Chasing Wild Rabbits
by TheFlowerOfTheCourt
Summary: The collection of story ideas that have gotten stuck in my head over the years. With enough feedback I will likely choose from these story ideas to be used as my next project when I have finished with my current ones. There are Harry Potter, Harry Potter/Twilight, and even Harry Potter/Game of Thrones stories that will be posted here. See a story idea you like? Review and tell me!
1. A Deal with the Devil - Part 1

**AN1: Please be mindful that none of these chapters or stories have been edited or beta'd yet. While I usually catch the majority of the mistakes as I write, there are surely some I have missed.**

**AN2: This is a Harry Potter/Twilight crossover fic.  
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**Pairings: Harry Potter/Jane Volturi**

**Ratings: M**

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><p><strong>Harry POV – May 1998<strong>

I was at a crossroads. Tom had just discovered that we were hunting his horcruxes after we managed to break into Gringotts and steal Huffelpuff's Chalice. He was angry enough to let his Occlumency shields drop and I was able to catch a long look at his immediate thoughts. He was going to check on his horcruxes, saving the, now identified to myself, Diadem of Ravenclaw for last that he had hidden in the Room of Requirement. If that wasn't bad enough, he planned on storming Hogwarts with his entire army. Catching a brief mental glimpse at the number of his followers, I knew we were doomed for failure.

We were going to be outnumbered two to one if we were lucky. I knew that we could call upon the Order and even most of the DA to help defend Hogwarts, but we would undoubtedly get many more than that. If we didn't come up with any more support than that, Voldemort was going to win.

We had just swam to shore, after jumping from the back of a half-blind dragon, and began to dry ourselves off. I quickly took the opportunity to relay to Ron and Hermione what I had just seen. Understandably they were both nervous, but I knew they would be with me until the end.

Thinking furiously, trying to come up with a way to avoid watching the majority of the people I knew from dying, I tried to think of a way to get help with our upcoming fight. I knew that Tom was going to wait until the cover of darkness before attacking and we had roughly six hours before then.

Suddenly, I remembered something that I had read during one of our many long nights spent at Grimmauld Place earlier in the year...

_It had been almost a month that we had been couped up inside of Number 12, and we were still a couple more weeks yet from trying to retrieve Slytherin's Locket from within the Ministry of Magic itself._

_Hermione was once again going over our plans as she had taken to doing religiously. Ron of course was down in the kitchen eating a late night snack. I was relatively bored, and it was that boredom that had lead me to start reading a random book from deep within the vaunted Black Library._

_This particular book spoke of an abnormal off-shoot of the vampire virus. We had of course been taught about vampires at Hogwarts, and I had even met one named Sanguini at one of Slughorn's parties, but what this book was describing was slightly different from the normal virus._

_We had also believed vampires to have blood-red eyes, deathly pale skin, super strength and speed, incomparable beauty, and a deathly intolerance to sunlight. However, according to this book there had been a split in the virus that started well over five thousand years ago. According to the book, they shared most of the same attributes with only two small differences. The first was that they were almost immune to sunlight, their only effect from it being the glittering of their skin. The other difference was that on a rare account when a person had a dominant gift there was a small chance it could generate into a special power when turned._

_Whoever wrote the book alluded to gaining this knowledge through his dealings with dealings of a trio of vampires. Apparently around three thousand years ago the writer of the book had met with the small group of men, whose names were Aro, Caius, and Marcus. He was able to learn much from them, but upon learning that the Black ancestor possessed the ability of magic, and fearing his ability to produce fire at will, they decided it was best to hide all knowledge of their existence from any who were not a vampire and formed the coven called the Volturi._

_The Volturi would spend the next three thousand years governing the vampire's to ensure they remained undiscovered. They had wanted to have the Black ancestor killed as he was the only human that knew of their location in Volterra, Italy; However, he was able to convince them to a deal. In exchange for his silence, the Volturi would owe the Black family one favor to be used by any who share the blood of the Black family._

_The book went on to explain where to find the entrance to the catacombs that housed the hidden vampire 'government', along with many more details he had learned from the three men._

I remembered Sirius once telling me that we were distantly related due to my grandmother, Dorea Potter, originally being Dorea Black. I knew it was a long shot, as I had no idea if the Volturi even still existed, but it was one I would have to take. I also ran the risk of them just trying to kill me the moment they see me, but if I didn't try we would all be dead by morning anyhow.

I knew I would have to hurry if I wanted this mission to not be doomed from the start and quickly explained to Ron and Hermione where I was going as well as where to find the second to last horcrux. Quickly I made a portkey that would take me to Volterra and was immediately whisked away.

I landed in a narrow alleyway a few blocks from where I needed to be. According to the book, there was an entrance to the catacombs near the clock tower, so that is where I headed. I made my way through the central square and headed down a small alley.

The alley angled slightly downward as it narrowed. There was a loose curve to the alley, still slanting downward, so I didn't see the squared-off dead end coming until we reached the flat, windowless, brick face. I didn't break pace as I strode toward the wall.

There I saw what looked like a drain, sunk into the lowest point of the paving. I hadn't noticed it, but the grate was halfway pushed aside. The hole was small, and black. I crouched down, swinging my legs into the narrow gap. It was silent and short. The air whipped past me for just half a second, and then, with a huff as I exhaled my feet hit solid ground.

It was dim, but not black at the bottom. The light from the hole above provided a faint glow, reflecting wetly from the stones under my feet. The light vanished for a second, and I stumbled my way across the uneven stone surface. The sound of the heavy grate sliding over the drain hole behind me rang with metallic finality.

The dim light from the street was quickly lost in the gloom. The sound of my footsteps echoed through the black space; it sounded very wide, but I couldn't be sure. There were no sounds other than my own heartbeat and my feet on the wet stones except for once, when an impatient sigh whispered from behind me.

Slowly, I turned around to see who was behind me. The newcomer was as tiny as a Creevey, with lank, dark blonde hair pulled behind her head with a hair band. The body under the cloak which was dark, almost completely black, was slim and small. But the face was pretty, too pretty for a human. She looked as if she was still in her early teens when she had been turned, but the wide-eyed, full-lipped face would make a Botticelli angel look like a gargoyle. Even allowing for the dull crimson irises, and I couldn't help but feel attraction to the young vampire.

"You know it is unwise to venture into the unknown. You never know what could happen to you." the girl said with a voice that would make angels jealous.

Despite the potential danger I was in, I couldn't help but give her a grin. "Hello beautiful. Whoever said I did not know where I was going? I would be appreciative if you could tell Aro that the last son of the house of Black is calling in his favor."

I could tell she wanted to attack me right there, but she must have thought that anyone claiming to be owed a favor to Aro would make it a bad decision to attack them until he had given her his permission.

Narrowing her eyes at me she spoke. "Follow me!" she was clearly unhappy and I hurriedly followed her further into the catacombs.

At the end of the tunnel was a grate. The iron bars were rusting, but as thick as my arm. A small door made of thinner, interlaced bars was standing open. We ducked through and hurried on to a larger, brighter stone room. The grille slammed shut with a clang, followed by the snap of a lock. I was too busy trying to keep up to look behind me.

On the other side of the long room was a low, heavy wooden door. It was very thick as I could tell because it, too, stood open. We stepped through the door, and I glanced around me in surprise, relaxing automatically.

We were in a brightly lit, unremarkable hallway. The walls were off-white, the floor carpeted in industrial gray. Common rectangular fluorescent lights were spaced evenly along the ceiling. It was warmer here, for which I was grateful. This hall seemed very benign after the gloom of the ghoulish stone sewers.

I kept walking, even as the heavy door creaked shut behind us, and then there was the thud of a bolt sliding home. Jane waited by the elevator, one hand holding the doors open for me. Her expression was apathetic.

Once inside the elevator, three vampires that must belonged to the Volturi stared at me. They threw back their cloaks, letting the hoods fall back on their shoulders. They were both of a slightly olive complexion, it looked odd combined with their chalky pallor. Ones black hair was cropped short, but the others waved to his shoulders. Their irises were deep crimson around the edges, darkening until they were black around the pupil. Under the shrouds, their clothes were modern, pale, and nondescript. I stood in the corner, determined to show no fear while never taking my eyes off of the beautiful blonde.

The elevator ride was short; we stepped out into what looked like a posh office reception area. The walls were paneled in wood, the floors carpeted in thick, deep green. There were no windows, but large, brightly lit paintings of the Tuscan countryside hung everywhere as replacements. Pale leather couches were arranged in cozy groupings, and the glossy tables held crystal vases full of vibrantly colored bouquets.

In the middle of the room was a high, polished mahogany counter. I gawked in astonishment at the woman behind it. She was tall, with dark skin and green eyes. She would have been very pretty in any other company, but not here. Because she was every bit as human as I was. I couldn't comprehend what this human woman was doing here, totally at ease, surrounded by vampires. It seemed against what the Volturi stood for.

She smiled politely in welcome. "Good afternoon, Jane," she said. At least now I knew the name of my guide. There was no surprise in her face as she glanced at Jane's company.

Jane nodded. "Gianna." She continued toward a set of double doors in the back of the room, and I followed.

On the other side of the wooden doors was a different kind of reception. The pale boy in the pearl gray suit could have been Jane's twin. His hair was darker, and his lips were not as full, but he was definitely of relation. He came forward to meet us. He smiled, reaching for her. "Jane."

"Alec," she responded, embracing the boy. They kissed each other's cheeks on both sides. Then he looked at me.

"Tourist?" he asked her. I assume it was code for something as I had a hard time imagining this place being used as a tourist attraction.

"He claims to call in a favor owed to his family by Aro himself." she sneered at me.

"Aro will be so pleased to meet him." Alec said, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.

"Let's not keep him waiting." Jane suggested.

Alec and Jane, holding hands, led the way down yet another wide, ornate hall. Would there ever be an end?

They ignored the doors at the end of the hall, doors entirely sheathed in gold, stopping halfway down the hall and sliding aside a piece of the paneling to expose a plain wooden door. It wasn't locked. Alec held it open for Jane.

I wanted to groan when Jane pulled me through to the other side of the door. It was the same ancient stone as the square, the alley, and the sewers. And it was dark and cold again.

The stone antechamber was not large. It opened quickly into a brighter, cavernous room, perfectly round like a huge castle turret which was probably exactly what it was.

Two stories up, long window slits threw thin rectangles of bright sunlight onto the stone floor below. There were no artificial lights. The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs, like thrones, that were spaced unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls. In the very center of the circle, in a slight depression, was another drain. I wondered if they used it as an exit, like the hole in the street.

The room was not empty. A handful of people were convened in seemingly relaxed conversation. The murmur of low, smooth voices was a gentle hum in the air. As I watched, a pair of pale women in summer dresses paused in a patch of light, and, like prisms, their skin threw the light in rainbow sparkles against the sienna walls.

The exquisite faces all turned toward our party as we entered the room. Most of the immortals were dressed in inconspicuous pants and shirts, things that wouldn't stick out at all on the streets below. But the man who spoke first wore one of the long robes. It was pitch-black, and brushed against the floor. For a moment, I thought his long, jet-black hair was the hood of his cloak. For a religious person he could have been mistaken for the devil himself.

"Jane, dear one, you've returned, and with a guest!" he cried in evident delight. His voice was just a soft sighing.

He drifted forward, and the movement flowed with such surreal grace that I gawked, I had to stop my mouth from hanging open. Even purebloods back home, who's every motion looked as smooth as gliding, could not compare.

I was only more astonished as he floated closer and I could see his face. It was not like the unnaturally attractive faces that surrounded him (for he did not approach us alone; the entire group converged around him, some following, and some walking ahead of him with the alert manner of bodyguards). I couldn't decide if his face would have been handsome to a woman or not. I suppose the features were perfect. But he was as different from the vampires beside him as they were from me. His skin was translucently white, like onionskin, and it looked just as delicate. It stood in shocking contrast to the long black hair that framed his face. I felt a strange, horrifying urge to touch his cheek, to see if it was powdery, like chalk. His eyes were red, the same as the others around him, but the color was clouded, milky; I wondered if his vision was affected by the haze.

He glided to Jane, took her face in his papery hands, kissed her lightly on her forehead as if she was his child, and then floated back a step.

"Yes, Master." Jane smiled; the expression made her look like an angelic child. "He claims you owe him a favor." again she turned to glare at me.

Deciding it was my turn to speak up I did so. "My ancestor, Apollo Black, along with my family has kept your secret for nearly three thousand years. I have come as the last scion of the house Black to reclaim our favor and complete our deal."

"Apollo!" Aro said happily. "My, it has been quite a long time since I had met him. He was truly a gifted man. I assume you won't mind showing me the proof of you being who you say you are?" he asked with a smile that I couldn't decide if it was fake or not.

I mentally frowned for a moment. It wasn't as if we carried around I.D. Cards in the muggle world. "Surely you know that my people do not carry around the obvious forms of identification. How shall I prove my heritage to you?" I asked.

His smile just widened even more. "Oh yes. I remember your heritage and the...things your family could do. Never fear child, I have my own way to find the answers I seek."

He held out his hand to me and I felt foolish for forgetting what I had read about Aro's ability to read your entire mind. I did not want to just give away my entire life worth of memories to him, but I knew I had no choice. Slowly I placed my hand in his and he grasped it.

He appeared to be in a day dream of sorts for a few seconds before he started to chuckle. "You ask much of us Mr. Potter." he finally said.

I began to fear he was going to decline to help me, but he continued. "Never fear child. I am willing to help you, however, you shall have to give something in return to...let say, even the deal a bit."

I knew that the chances of me enjoying my answer I asked. "Exactly what is it I could offer you to make you accept?"

Yes, I knew I was going to regret this as his smile grew wider. It felt as if I was about to make a deal with the devil himself. "We have kept ourselves hidden from those of your heritage for three thousand years. As such, we have never had one of your...heritage...join our ranks. Who knows the abilities that could be carried over. In exchange for helping you end your war, you shall have to join us! I would expect a service of at least fifteen years if you should end up with a gift when you are turned. Then you shall be free to leave…if you so choose that is."

I think Jane might not have been very happy with that decision, of course it didn't sound too appealing to me either. Immortality and losing my magic was never very appealing to me. Of course her shouting might have had something to do with it me guessing her anger.

"You would join his war and only ask in return for him to join us? He is nothing but a human! What could he possibly offer us? I could kill him with both eyes closed and my arms tied behind my back!" yes, she seemed to not care for me much. Of course I couldn't help but smile at her arrogance. It seems that Aro has kept the knowledge of wizards quiet as well.

Despite the urgency of the situation that brought me here, I couldn't help but to send a jab at her. "If I am so weak, perhaps you wouldn't mind to place a wager on a little fight. No killing, and the first to yield shall lose." Just to goad her I sent her a smirk. Besides she looked kind of sexy with anger on her face.

She briefly looked to a still smiling Aro, who nodded his head as if to give her his permission. "If you lose then you become my dinner human." she snarled.

Death sounded pretty harsh in my opinion so I tried to come up with something equally as harsh for her. My impending loss of mortality briefly flashed in my mind as I got an idea. "Very well, and if you lose..." I paused for dramatic effect that I am sure didn't work. "When you lose, you shall become my loving mate when I am turned."

She paused for a second as if unsure to accept or not. I couldn't help but smile wider and I noticed a few others were doing the same. Finally she ground out her answer. "Fine! Our fight will start now!"

I immediately drew my wand from its holster waiting for her to make a move. I felt a painful force pressing hard against my pathetic Occlumency shields. It would figure that she would have a special power. Now that I thought about it, I should have assumed most of the vampires here would have one. Knowing that my weak shields wouldn't keep her out of my head for long I struck.

I quickly slashed my wand through the air and conjured a fire whip. While I knew it would hurt her, it would only kill her if I decided to actually light her on fire with it instead of just scorch and bind her. It would hurt like hell but she would recover from it.

I slashed my wand through the air once more, so fast it would have been awe inspiring to a human but still impressive to a vampire, and flicked the fire whip towards her before she could even process what was happening. The whip wrapped itself around her neck, and she screamed from the pain as I jerked her forward to the ground. She tried to get up several times, but each time I intensified the fire.

"Now my dear, do you yield?" I taunted her, knowing she wasn't going to give up that quickly.

She growled at me and grunted as she tried to force herself to her knees to fight back, her not having the concentration to use her gift on my mind again. I heightened the heat until I could hear he pale skin starting to sizzle before she screamed. "Yield! I yield, please just stop!"

Full blown smirk in place I release my whip and re-sheath my wand. Confidently I walked to my future mate and offered her my hand. She glared at it until she finally seemed to realize what it was exactly that she had just lost and she seemed to wilt.

"Come now beautiful, I am sure with time you will come to enjoy my company. After all...I am a romantic at heart." I grinned, while Aro started clapping as if he had just watched the best movie to ever exist.

With a sigh she placed her hand in mine as, what I assume was her brother, stared at me with a curious look. I pulled her to her feet before drawing my wand again and casting a mild healing charm to fix her neck. She would have healed fairly quickly on her own, but she was going to be my future mate and I did not want to see her suffer. Once done I re-sheathed my wand again, and just to be cheeky, gave her a quick kiss on the neck where my whip had burnt her.

**Jane POV**

I gave him a halfhearted glare after he had the gall to kiss my neck. While he may soon be my mate, I wasn't going to count it until he was turned. "Your deal only starts when you are turned human, so watch where those lips go!"

He just smirked at me. "My name is Harry by the way. I figure that as my future lover you should at least know my name."

My eyes widened when he called me his future lover. I had still yet to turn fourteen when I was turned, my breasts had never even grown bigger than a large B or small C cup and I had yet to even start growing pubic hair, but it was still common place for girls to marry at thirteen and be a mother shortly after when I was human so my mind was still stuck in that way of thinking.

Life as a thirteen year old, at least in appearance, vampire did not offer much chance for mating. Even though I had thankfully been losing the look of a girly boy in my last year as a human, and my butt, while still small, had a bit of bubble to it. however, most vampires were turned in their twenties or later and did not find one as young as myself attractive.

If I had to tell the absolute truth, I figured he…Harry as he was named…would be pretty damn sexy as a vampire, and when the time came I might not be against being his lover. He had brilliant emerald green eyes, even if they wouldn't last once turned, that seemed to almost glow with power and hair as dark as Aro's. I just hoped that when he was turned it wouldn't stay so unruly. He wasn't overly tall, which would be good as I was still short of five foot myself.

All in all, I figured at least I wasn't going to be stuck with an ogre of a man. Of course this was all if I had to tell the truth, which I didn't, so I wasn't going to tell him that yet as he was still human and had a big enough head it seemed as it was. I was just thankful that he was a powerful human. Hopefully it would transfer over when he was a vampire.

Of course he just had to give me that damn crooked grin of his. Thankfully as a vampire I was unable to blush or I would have to kill the first vampire to laugh at me. You have no idea how hard it can be as a vampire eternally stuck in the heart of puberty. Thankfully I was spared as Aro directed the conversation back to himself.

**Harry POV**

"Bravo! Wonderful Harry!" Aro softly clapped as he congratulated me with a smile. "It is not often that someone can match Jane, let alone defeat her."

"I have a few special talents and had the element of surprise." I replied to him, turning serious again. "So you will help me?"

"Yes, however, it would be wise to remember our deal." Aro spoke softly before turning to his guard. "Prepare to leave. We head to Scotland in ten minutes."

"The house of Black thanks you." I told Aro. "I as well must leave, as there is still much to do before tonight." Aro gave me a slight bow of acknowledgment before turning to join the rest in preparing. I quickly made a portkey to Hogsmeade, where I would sneak into the castle to make sure the Hocruxes, other than the snake, had all been destroyed.

I drop to my knees, exhaustion filling my body as my head drops, my chin resting on my chest as I stare at my blood covered hands. The blood ripples and slides off of them as rain pelts down from the darkened skies, clouds blocking out any chance of stars and moonlight. A gentle glow covers the blood soaked grass, I look behind me to see the source is Hagrid's hut, engulfed in flames. Hagrid himself, as well as Fang, were looking up at the sky with lifeless, empty eyes, having died sometime during the battle.

I shake my head slowly and raise myself up painfully, one arm dislocated and hanging uselessly by my side. I turn around, pick up my wand and limp towards the castle, the adrenalin rushing out of my system, letting me feel every ache and pain. I look hollowly at each body as I pass them, images of how they died flashing before my eyes.

I pause at the site of Remus' body, lowering myself and closing his eyes gently, letting a tear fall for the loss of the last marauder.

I slowly keep moving, walking past the destroyed doors of the Great Hall to see the tables shattered, the roof gone, a hole in the wall overlooking the lake. I move towards the head table...well what used to be the head table. The only thing not destroyed was the Headmaster's throne.

I sit down with a sigh, popping my arm back into the socket with a small keen of pain, my eyes shut before I rest my head back, letting my body try to relax for a minute.

"You have kept your end of the contract." I speak quietly, sensing their presence as soon as they entered the hall, even if their footsteps are silent.

"Will you keep yours?" I open my eyes tiredly and look at the group of three in front of me, their clothing covered in blood along with their hands.

I look at the speaker, Demetri, taking in the pale skin, short frosted brown hair and his burgundy colored eyes. "I take it Aro has already set forth for Volterra?" I asked him.

"Yes, as shall we here momentarily." he said jesting to the other two with him. "He asks that you join us in three days time to fulfill your end of the deal. That should leave you ample time to get your affairs in order."

I nod my head in acknowledgment. "I shall be there."

Demetri and a second one turn from the group and leaves, the smaller one that I could recognize as Jane came forth. "You are powerful for a human...I look forward to seeing you when you are turned." She leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before turning and disappearing, headed back for Volterra.

I watch as people move through the alley, my hood up to stop any recognition. The buildings are slowly being rebuilt and reopened, a large part of them having been closed or destroyed during the war.

I walk up the steps to Gringotts, nodding to the goblin guards before walking swiftly over the marble flooring. I move to a teller away from the rest and speak softly, my head lowered slightly as I speak respectfully. "I would like to request audience with Manager Sharpclaw please. Tell him Lord Potter-Black is asking for him."

I watch as he looks at me before he nods and steps down from the chair he is sitting on before motioning me to follow him. He leads me down a series of winding corridors, stopping at a heavy wooden door, knocking once before turning and leaving me standing there on my own.

"Enter." I hear from the other side.

I open the door and walk in smoothly, moving in front of the desk before bowing deeply, lifting up again before taking my seat. "Ahh, Lord Potter-Black, what can I do for you today?"

"Master Sharpclaw, I wish to move my accounts to a vault at a secure location, warded for only my entry and the knowledge of its location known to only us." I watch as he freezes before looking at me sharply. "We were too few wands, and the war would have been lost. I entered an agreement with the lord of the Volturi. That arrangement will prevent me from entering the Wizarding world for an indefinite amount of time, possibly for the rest of my life. I am not willing to risk the Ministry getting a hand on my legacy. Should I have a magical child then my legacy will return to Gringotts when they enter Hogwarts." I sigh softly at the thought of a child before looking back at the goblin's shocked face.

Sharpclaw continued to stare at me before he seemed to come to a decision. "It shall cost you 1% of your total assets for my help Mr. Potter-Black. Do you accept?" he asked.

I nod my head in acceptance.

Finally it was the third day from the time of the Battle of Hogwarts. I had all of my affairs in order and it was time for me to fulfill my end of the bargain. I moved quietly through the streets, passing smoothly through the rush of people, never quite touching them and never giving them time to notice me.

I pause and slip into an alley before glancing up, spotting a cloaked figure on the rooftop, a slight sparkle catching my eye with the figures hand meets the sunlight, telling me it is a vampire. I conjure a cloak and cover my body, the hood up and putting my face into shadow before I walk back into the street, the folds of the cloak kept shut as I move to the entrance of the catacombs.

I open my mouth to speak to the guard, only to close it again when the door opens and Jane motions for me to follow. I follow her once again down a familiar set of hallways, only to stop at the doors of the throne room. Jane knocks and slips inside and opens the doors fully a minute later.

I take a slow breath and step in smoothly, stopping where I had done last time before bowing softly, giving a small grin to Jane before turning towards the three men on the thrones.

Sitting to the right of Aro was Marcus, slouched in the chair as he stares expressionless at me. He is a tall vampire with shoulder length brown hair, red eyes that appear to have a milky overlay, and his features look to be roughly middle aged.

To Aro's left was Caius. He was looking at me with curious eyes that have a glint that reminded me of Bellatrix. He had silky blonde hair, an extremely pale complexion, and dark red eyes. He was of an average build.

Standing behind Aro and Caius were two women, each with hair that almost matched that of their mates.

I look back at Aro and find him smiling as always. "Shall we begin?"

Pain. Agony. Burning. Hunger. Lust...all of these were tearing through my body for days, but seemed to be an eternity. Every muscle, every vein, and every part of my body felt as if Fiendfyre was coursing through them while I was being Cruicio'd repeatedly.

The venom coursing through my body and mind was attacking not only my body but my magic. In order to try and save itself, my magic started to boost my weak Occlumency shields in an attempt to protect itself, hardening them to levels unknown.

When the venom started to attack my magic and my core, it lashed out confused as to what to do. It eventually settled in on copying the effects of what it felt. My magic felt the fire burning and coursing through my body and not knowing what else to do started to copy it, fighting fire with fire. It only increased the pain of the transformation.

Fire started to arc from my body, burning it before the damage was healed by the venom. The fire would then burn me again before, yet again, being healed by the venom. It would repeat itself over and over endlessly, eventually my entire body being constantly covered in immensely hot flames.

Finally towards the end of the third day...or third year for all I knew...my magic had long since disappeared, even as the fire burning my body remained. The pain coursing through my body intensified to its worst levels yet as the venom made its way to my heart, its last stop on its journey through my body. With one last pain filled beat, my heart finally stopped and the flames surrounded me finally died down.

I open my eyes slowly, instantly being hit with the glare of the light from the window. I sat up and looked around the room, only to feel disoriented as I had to adjust to my new senses. I could see every small detail as if it were up close. Every sense I had felt a hundred times better than when I had been human.

The room I was in had dark blue walls, a metal re-enforced door, and most importantly, scorch marks everywhere. The room was covered in them and I could smell the ash and soot in the air.

I spotted a mirror, which was relatively undamaged except for around the edges. I used my hand to wipe it clean before looking into it. My once brilliant emerald green eyes were blood red and had what looked like fire dancing in them. My skin, which had always been rather pale was now even more so, except shockingly it was still bathed in flames. Quickly willing myself to turn it off, I sighed in relief when they slowing receded back into my body, miraculously leaving me undamaged.

I had been so caught up in my reflection I almost missed the opening of a door and someone speaking. "It is quite amazing…the power you carried over I mean."

I turned to see Aro speaking to me. He looked as if he had been granted his every wish he had made for the last three thousand years all at once.

"Fire is truly the only way to destroy us vampires…well the ones who are day walkers anyways. Yet you have managed to not only control fire, but be immune to it as well. I shall truly miss having you around if you decide to leave us after your fifteen years have gone. You shall have the power to kill all and truly live forever!"

I had to stop and contemplate his last comment. True immortality…it was something I had never wished for and Tom Riddle had dreamed of it, yet I was destined to roam this world until its very end. Fate really is a bitch sometimes.

"Now young Harry, I am sure you are feeling the burn in your throat as we speak, so before you feed and then get setting into our ranks, do you have any questions for me?" he asked me.

I couldn't help myself from being cheeky, plus I really did want to see her. "Can I persuade you to show me to my mate…and have food delivered? After all, I don't believe I have to watch my wayward lips any longer!"

Aro just chuckled at me before nodding his head before laughing again. "Very well. I fear these next fifteen years shall be most enjoyable!"


	2. A Deal with the Devil - Part 2

**Bella POV – **_**Fifteen years later **_**– March 2013**

"I can't believe how quick it was. I didn't feel a thing…they're very good." Edward mused, closing his eyes again and pressing his lips against my hair. His voice was like honey and velvet. "Death, that hath sucked the honey of thy breath, hath had no power yet upon thy beauty." He murmured, and I recognized the line spoken by Romeo in the tomb. The clock boomed out its final chime "You smell just exactly the same as always." He went on. "So maybe this is hell, I don't care. I'll take it"

"I'm not dead." I interrupted. "And neither are you! Please Edward, we have to move. They can't be far away!" I struggled in his arms, and his brow furrowed in confusion.

"What was that?" he asked politely.

"We're not dead, not yet! But we have to get out of here before the Volturi…" Comprehension flickered on his face as I spoke. Before I could finish, he suddenly yanked me away from the edge of the shadows, spinning me effortlessly so that my back was tight against the brick wall, and his back was to me as he faced away into the alley. His arms spread wide, protectively, in front of me.

I peeked under his arm to see two dark shapes detach themselves from the gloom.

"Greetings, gentlemen." Edward's voice was calm and pleasant, on the surface. "I don't think I'll be requiring your services today. I would appreciate it very much, however, if you would send my thanks to your masters."

"Shall we take this conversation to a more appropriate venue?" a smooth voice whispered menacingly.

"I don't believe that will be necessary." Edward's voice was harder now. "I know your instructions, Felix. I haven't broken any rules."

"Felix merely meant to point out the proximity of the sun." the other shadow said in a smoothing tone. They were both concealed within smoky gray cloaks that reached to the ground and undulated in the wind.

"Let us seek better cover."

"I'll be right behind you." Edward said dryly. "Bella why don't you go back to the square and enjoy the festival?"

"No, bring the girl." The first shadow said, somehow injecting a leer into his whisper.

"I don't think so." The pretense of civility disappeared. Edward's voice was flat and icy. His weight shifted infinitesimally, and I could see that he was preparing to fight.

"No!" I mouthed the word to him.

"Shh." He murmured, only for me.

"Felix," the second, more reasonable shadow cautioned. "Not here." He turned to Edward. "Aro would simply like to speak with you again, if you have decided not to force our hand after all."

"Certainly." Edward agreed. "But the girl goes free."

"I'm afraid that's not possible." The polite shadow said regretfully. "We do have rules to obey."

"Then I'm afraid that I'll be unable to accept Aro's invitation, Demetri."

"That's just fine." Felix purred. My eyes were adjusting to the deep shade, and I could see that Felix was very big, tall and thick through the shoulders. His size reminded me of Emmett.

"Aro will be disappointed." Demetri sighed.

"I'm sure he'll survive the letdown." Edward replied.

Felix and Demetri stole closer toward the mouth of the alley, spreading out slightly so they could come at Edward from two sides. They meant to force him deeper into the alley, to avoid a scene. No reflected light found access to their skin; they were safe inside their cloaks.

Edward didn't move an inch. He was dooming himself by protecting me.

Abruptly, Edward's head whipped around, toward the darkness of the winding alley, and Demetri and Felix did the same, in response to some sound or movement too subtle for my senses.

"Let's behave ourselves, shall we?" a lilting voice suggested. "There are ladies present."

Alice tripped lightly to Edward's side, her stance casual. There was no hint of any underlying tension. She looked so tiny, so fragile. Her little arms swung like a child's.

Yet Demetri and Felix both straightened up, their cloaks swirling slightly as a gust of wind funneled through the alley. Felix's face soured. Apparently, they didn't like even numbers.

"We're not alone," she reminded them.

Demetri glanced over his shoulder. A few yards into the square, the little family, with the girls in their red dresses, was watching us. The mother was speaking urgently to her husband, her eyes on the five of us. She looked away when Demetri met her gaze. The man walked a few steps farther into the plaza, and tapped one of the red-blazered men on the shoulder.

Demetri shook his head. "Please, Edward, let's be reasonable," he said.

"Let's," Edward agreed. "And we'll leave quietly now, with no one the wiser."

Demetri sighed in frustration. "At least let us discuss this more privately."

Six men in red now joined the family as they watched us with anxious expressions. I was very conscious of Edward's protective stance in front of me, sure that this was what caused their alarm. I wanted to scream to them to run.

Edward's teeth came together audibly. "No."

Felix smiled.

"Enough."

The voice was high, reedy, and came from behind us.

I peeked under Edward's other arm to see a small, dark shape coming toward us. By the way the edges billowed, I knew it would be another one of them. Who else?

At first I thought it was a young boy until she came closer. The newcomer was as tiny as Alice, with lank, dark blonde hair, tied back behind her head. The body under the cloak, which was darker, almost black, was slim and must have belonged to a girl in her early teens. But the face was too pretty for a boy. The wide-eyed, full-lipped face looked like an angel. Even allowing for the dull crimson irises.

Her size was so insignificant that the reaction to her appearance confused me. Felix and Demetri relaxed immediately, stepping back from their offensive positions to blend again with the shadows of the overhanging walls.

Edward dropped his arms and relaxed his position as well, but in defeat.

"Jane," he sighed in recognition and resignation.

Alice folded her arms across her chest, her expression impassive.

"Follow me," Jane spoke again, her childish voice a monotone. She turned her back on us and drifted silently into the dark. "You have kept me from my mate for long enough."

Edward and Alice looked confused at her mentioning of a mate. They knew that she was over a thousand years old and had never had a mate before. Felix gestured for us to go first, smirking.

Alice walked after the little Jane at once. Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me along beside her. The alley angled slightly downward as it narrowed. I looked up at him with frantic questions in my eyes, but he just shook his head. Though I couldn't hear the others behind us, I was sure they were there.

"Well, Alice," Edward said conversationally as we walked. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised to see you here."

"It was my mistake," Alice answered in the same tone. "It was my job to set it right."

"What happened?" His voice was polite, as if he were barely interested. I imagined this was due to the listening ears behind us.

"It's a long story." Alice's eyes flickered toward me and away. "In summary, she did jump off a cliff, but she wasn't trying to kill herself. Bella's all about the extreme sports these days."

I flushed and turned my eyes straight ahead, looking after the dark shadow that I could no longer see. I could imagine what he was hearing in Alice's thoughts now. Near-drownings, stalking vampires, werewolf friends.

"Hmm," Edward said curtly, and the casual tone of his voice was gone.

There was a loose curve to the alley, still slanting downward, so I didn't see the squared-off dead end coming until we reached the flat, windowless, brick face. The little one called Jane was nowhere to be seen.

Alice didn't hesitate, didn't break pace as she strode toward the wall. Then, with easy grace, she slid down an open hole in the street.

It looked like a drain, sunk into the lowest point of the paving. I hadn't noticed it until Alice disappeared, but the grate was halfway pushed aside. The hole was small, and black.

I balked.

"It's all right, Bella," Edward said in a low voice. "Alice will catch you."

I eyed the hole doubtfully. I imagine he would have gone first, if Demetri and Felix hadn't been waiting, smug and silent, behind us.

I crouched down, swinging my legs into the narrow gap.

"Alice?" I whispered, voice trembling.

"I'm right here, Bella," she reassured me. Her voice came from too far below to make me feel better.

Edward took my wrists, his hands felt like stones in winter, and lowered me into the blackness.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Drop her," Alice called.

I closed my eyes so I couldn't see the darkness, scrunching them together in terror, clamping my mouth shut so I wouldn't scream. Edward let me fall.

It was silent and short. The air whipped past me for just half a second, and then, with a huff as I exhaled, Alice's waiting arms caught me.

I was going to have bruises; her arms were very hard. She stood me upright.

It was dim, but not black at the bottom. The light from the hole above provided a faint glow, reflecting wetly from the stones under my feet. The light vanished for a second, and then Edward was a faint, white radiance beside me. He put his arm around me, holding me close to his side, and began to tow me swiftly forward. I wrapped both arms around his cold waist, and tripped and stumbled my way across the uneven stone surface. The sound of the heavy grate sliding over the drain hole behind us rang with metallic finality.

The dim light from the street was quickly lost in the gloom. The sound of my staggering footsteps echoed through the black space; it sounded very wide, but I couldn't be sure. There were no sounds other than my frantic heartbeat and my feet on the wet stones, except for once, when an impatient sigh whispered from behind me.

Edward held me tightly. He reached his free hand across his body to hold my face, too, his smooth thumb tracing across my lips. Now and then, I felt his face press into my hair. I realized that this was the only reunion we would get, and I clutched myself closer to him.

For now, it felt like he wanted me, and that was enough to offset the horror of the subterranean tunnel and the prowling vampires behind us. It was probably no more than guilt, the same guilt that compelled him to come here to die when he'd believed that it was his fault that I'd killed myself. But I felt his lips press silently against my forehead, and I didn't care what the motivation was. At least I could be with him again before I died. That was better than a long life.

I wished I could ask him exactly what was going to happen now. I wanted desperately to know how we were going to die, as if that would somehow make it better, knowing in advance. But I couldn't speak, even in a whisper, surrounded as we were. The others could hear everything, my every breath, my every heartbeat.

The path beneath our feet continued to slant downward, taking us deeper into the ground, and it made me claustrophobic. Only Edward's hand, soothing against my face, kept me from screaming out loud.

I couldn't tell where the light was coming from, but it slowly turned dark gray instead of black. We were in a low, arched tunnel. Long trails of ebony moisture seeped down the gray stones, like they were bleeding ink.

I was shaking, and I thought it was from fear. It wasn't until my teeth started to chatter together that I realized I was cold. My clothes were still wet, and the temperature underneath the city was wintry. As was Edward's skin.

He realized this at the same time I did, and let go of me, keeping only my hand.

"N-n-no," I chattered, throwing my arms around him. I didn't care if I froze. Who knew how long we had left?

His cold hand chafed against my arm, trying to warm me with the friction.

We hurried through the tunnel, or it felt like hurrying to me. My slow progress irritated someone, I guessed Felix, and I heard him heave a sigh now and then.

At the end of the tunnel was a grate, the iron bars were rusting, but thick as my arm. A small door made of thinner, interlaced bars was standing open. Edward ducked through and hurried on to a larger, brighter stone room. The grille slammed shut with a clang, followed by the snap of a lock. I was too afraid to look behind me.

On the other side of the long room was a low, heavy wooden door. It was very thick, as I could tell because it, too, stood open.

We stepped through the door, and I glanced around me in surprise, relaxing automatically. Beside me, Edward tensed, his jaw clenched tight.

We were in a brightly lit, unremarkable hallway. The walls were off-white, the floor carpeted in industrial gray. Common rectangular fluorescent lights were spaced evenly along the ceiling. It was warmer here, for which I was grateful. This hall seemed very benign after the gloom of the ghoulish stone sewers.

Edward didn't seem to agree with my assessment. He glowered darkly down the long hallway, toward the slight, black shrouded figure at the end, standing by an elevator.

He pulled me along, and Alice walked on my other side. The heavy door creaked shut behind us, and then there was the thud of a bolt sliding home.

Jane waited by the elevator, one hand holding the doors open for us. Her expression was apathetic.

Once inside the elevator, the three vampires that belonged to the Volturi relaxed further. They threw back their cloaks, letting the hoods fall back on their shoulders. Felix and Demetri were both of a slightly olive complexion, it looked odd combined with their chalky pallor. Felix's black hair was cropped short, but Demetri's waved to his shoulders. Their irises were deep crimson around the edges, darkening until they were black around the pupil. Under the shrouds, their clothes were modern, pale, and nondescript. I cowered in the corner, cringing against Edward. His hand still rubbed against my arm. He never took his eyes off Jane.

The elevator ride was short; we stepped out into what looked like a posh office reception area. The walls were paneled in wood, the floors carpeted in thick, deep green. There were no windows, but large, brightly lit paintings of the Tuscan countryside hung everywhere as replacements. Pale leather couches were arranged in cozy groupings, and the glossy tables held crystal vases full of vibrantly colored bouquets. The flowers' smell reminded me of a funeral home.

In the middle of the room was a high, polished mahogany counter. I gawked in astonishment at the woman behind it.

She was tall, with dark skin and green eyes. She would have been very pretty in any other company, but not here. Because she was every bit as human as I was. I couldn't comprehend what this human woman was doing here, totally at ease, surrounded by vampires.

She smiled politely in welcome. "Good afternoon, Jane," she said. There was no surprise in her face as she glanced at Jane's company. Not Edward, his bare chest glinting dimly in the white lights, or even me, disheveled and comparatively hideous.

Jane nodded. "Gianna." She continued toward a set of double doors in the back of the room, and we followed. I couldn't help but wonder how many times this scene had been played out in the past, previous victims not lucky enough to leave this place.

As Felix passed the desk, he winked at Gianna, and she giggled.

On the other side of the wooden doors was a different kind of reception. The pale boy in the pearl gray suit could have been Jane's twin. His hair was darker, and his lips were not as full, but he was just as lovely. He came forward to meet us. He smiled, reaching for her. "Jane."

"Alec," she responded, embracing the boy. They kissed each other's cheeks on both sides. Then he looked at us. "They send you out for one and you come back with two, and a half," he noted, looking at me. "Nice work. He is with Aro, they are waiting for you."

She laughed, the sound sparkled with delight like a baby's cooing, before nodding in acknowledgment and a smile on her face at whoever it was she was meeting with Aro.

"Welcome back, Edward," Alec greeted him. "You seem in a better mood."

"Marginally," Edward agreed in a flat voice. I glanced at Edward's hard face, and wondered how his mood could have been darker before.

Alec chuckled, and examined me as I clung to Edward's side. "And this is the cause of all the trouble?" he asked, skeptical.

Edward only smiled, his expression contemptuous. Then he froze.

"Dibs," Felix called casually from behind.

Edward turned, a low snarl building deep in his chest. Felix smiled, his hand was raised, palm up; he curled his fingers twice, inviting Edward forward.

Alice touched Edward's arm. "Patience," she cautioned him.

They exchanged a long glance, and I wished I could hear what she was telling him. I figured that it was something to do with not attacking Felix, because Edward took a deep breath and turned back to Alec.

"Aro will be so pleased to see you again," Alec said, as if nothing had passed.

"Let's not keep him waiting," Jane suggested, but she wasn't referring to Aro. She was eager to get back to her mate.

Edward nodded once.

Alec and Jane, holding hands, led the way down yet another wide, ornate hall would there ever be an end?

They ignored the doors at the end of the hall, doors entirely sheathed in gold, stopping halfway down the hall and sliding aside a piece of the paneling to expose a plain wooden door. It wasn't locked. Alec held it open for Jane.

I wanted to groan when Edward pulled me through to the other side of the door. It was the same ancient stone as the square, the alley, and the sewers. And it was dark and cold again.

The stone antechamber was not large. It opened quickly into a brighter, cavernous room, perfectly round like a huge castle turret, which was probably exactly what it was.

Two stories up, long window slits threw thin rectangles of bright sunlight onto the stone floor below. There were no artificial lights. The only furniture in the room were several massive wooden chairs, like thrones, that were spaced unevenly, flush with the curving stone walls. In the very center of the circle, in a slight depression, was another drain. I wondered if they used it as an exit, like the hole in the street.

The room was not empty. A handful of people were convened in seemingly relaxed conversation. The murmur of low, smooth voices was a gentle hum in the air. As I watched, a pair of pale women in summer dresses paused in a patch of light, and, like prisms, their skin threw the light in rainbow sparkles against the sienna walls.

The exquisite faces all turned toward our party as we entered the room. Most of the immortals were dressed in inconspicuous pants and shirts, things that wouldn't stick out at all on the streets below. But the man who spoke first wore one of the long robes. It was pitch-black, and brushed against the floor. For a moment, I thought his long, jet-black hair was the hood of his cloak.

"Jane, dear one, you've returned!" he cried in evident delight as she ran to a man hidden by a hood and cloak only the smallest of a fraction lighter than Aro's. She threw herself at him, their lips clashing together.

Aro drifted forward, and the movement flowed with such surreal grace that I gawked, my mouth hanging open. Even Alice, whose every motion looked like dancing, could not compare.

I was only more astonished as he floated closer and I could see his face. It was not like the unnaturally attractive faces that surrounded him (for he did not approach us alone; the entire group converged around him, some following, and some walking ahead of him with the alert manner of bodyguards). I couldn't decide if his face was beautiful or not. I suppose the features were perfect. But he was as different from the vampires beside him as they were from me. His skin was translucently white, and it looked just as delicate, it stood in shocking contrast to the long black hair that framed his face. I felt a strange, horrifying urge to touch his cheek, to see if it was softer than Edward's or Alice's, or if it was powdery, like chalk. His eyes were red, the same as the others around him, but the color was clouded, milky.

He glided to Jane, as the man who was holding her, had her face in his hands, still kissing her passionately on her full lips. It was the only emotion I had seen on her face…happiness.

"Yes, Master." Jane smiled finally taking her lips off of the still hooded figure. "I brought him back alive, just as you wished."

"Ah, Jane." He smiled, too. "You are such a comfort to me, and I know I am not the only one." He chuckled looking to the man who had reclaimed Jane's lips as the two where seemingly back into their own world.

He turned his misty eyes toward us, and the smile brightened, became ecstatic.

"And Alice and Bella, too!" he rejoiced, clapping his thin hands together. "This is a happy surprise! Wonderful!"

I stared in shock as he called our names informally, as if we were old friends dropping in for an unexpected visit.

He turned to our hulking escort. "Felix, be a dear and tell my brothers about our company. I'm sure they wouldn't want to miss this."

"Yes, Master." Felix nodded and disappeared back the way we had come.

"You see, Edward?" The strange vampire turned and smiled at Edward like a fond but scolding grandfather. "What did I tell you? Aren't you glad that I didn't give you what you wanted yesterday?"

"Yes, Aro, I am," he agreed, tightening his arm around my waist.

"I love a happy ending." Aro sighed. "They are so rare. But I want the whole story. How did this happen? Alice?" He turned to gaze at Alice with curious, misty eyes. "Your brother seemed to think you infallible, but apparently there was some mistake."

"Oh, I'm far from infallible." She flashed a dazzling smile. She looked perfectly at ease, except that her hands were balled into tight little fists. "As you can see today, I cause problems as often as I cure them."

"You're too modest," Aro chided. "I've seen some of your more amazing exploits, and I must admit I've never observed anything like your talent. Wonderful!"

Alice flickered a glance at Edward. Aro did not miss it.

"I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced properly at all, have we? It's just that I feel like I know you already, and I tend get ahead of myself. Your brother introduced us yesterday, in a peculiar way. You see, I share some of your brother's talent, only I am limited in a way that he is not." Aro shook his head; his tone was envious.

"And also exponentially more powerful," Edward added dryly. He looked at Alice as he swiftly explained. "Aro needs physical contact to hear your thoughts, but he hears much more than I do. You know I can only hear what's passing through your head in the moment. Aro hears every thought your mind has ever had."

Alice raised her delicate eyebrows, and Edward inclined his head.

Aro didn't miss that either.

"But to be able to hear from a distance." Aro sighed, gesturing toward the two of them, and the exchange that had just taken place. "That would be so convenient."

Aro looked over our shoulders. All the other heads turned in the same direction, including Jane and her mysterious mate, Alec, and Demetri, who stood silently beside us.

I was the slowest to turn. Felix was back, and behind him floated two more black-robed men. Both looked very much like Aro, one even had the same flowing black hair. The other had a shock of snow-white hair, the same shade as his face that brushed against his shoulders. Their faces had identical, paper-thin skin.

The trio from Carlisle's painting was complete, unchanged by the last three hundred years since it was painted.

"Marcus, Caius, look!" Aro crooned. "Bella is alive after all, and Alice is here with her! Isn't that wonderful?"

Neither of the other two looked as if wonderful would be their first choice of words. The dark-haired man seemed utterly bored, like he'd seen too many millennia of Aro's enthusiasm. The other's face was sour under the snowy hair.

Their lack of interest did not curb Aro's enjoyment.

"Let us have the story," Aro almost sang in his feathery voice.

The white-haired ancient vampire drifted away, gliding toward one of the wooden thrones. The other paused beside Aro, and he reached his hand out, at first I thought to take Aro's hand. But he just touched Aro's palm briefly and then dropped his hand to his side. Aro raised one black brow. I wondered how his papery skin did not crumple in the effort.

Edward snorted very quietly, and Alice looked at him, curious.

"Thank you, Marcus," Aro said. "That's quite interesting."

I realized, a second late, that Marcus was letting Aro know his thoughts.

Marcus didn't look interested. He glided away from Aro to join the one who must be Caius, seated against the wall. Two of the attending vampires followed silently behind him, bodyguards, like I'd thought before. I could see that the two women in the sundresses had gone to stand beside Caius in the same manner. The idea of any vampire needing a guard was faintly ridiculous to me, but maybe the ancient ones were as frail as their skin suggested.

Aro was shaking his head. "Amazing,"' he said. "Absolutely amazing."

Alice's expression was frustrated. Edward turned to her and explained again in a swift, low voice. "Marcus sees relationships. He's surprised by the intensity of mine and Bella's."

Aro smiled. "So convenient," he repeated to himself. Then he spoke to us. "It takes quite a bit to surprise Marcus, I can assure you."

I looked at Marcus's dead face, and I believed that.

"It's just so difficult to understand, even now," Aro mused, staring at Edward's arm wrapped around me. It was hard for me to follow Aro's chaotic train of thought. I struggled to keep up. "How can you stand so close to her like that?"

"It's not without effort," Edward answered calmly.

"But still, la tua cantante! What a waste!"

Edward chuckled once without humor. "I look at it more as a price."

Aro was skeptical. "A very high price."

"Opportunity cost."

Aro laughed. "If I hadn't smelled her through your memories, I wouldn't have believed the call of anyone's blood could be so strong. I've never felt anything like it myself. Most of us would trade much for such a gift, and yet you…"

"Waste it," Edward finished, his voice sarcastic now.

Aro laughed again. "Ah, how I miss my friend Carlisle! You remind me of him, only he was not so angry."

"Carlisle outshines me in many other ways as well."

"I certainly never thought to see Carlisle bested for self-control of all things, but you put him to shame."

"Hardly." Edward sounded impatient. As if he were tired of the preliminaries. It made me more afraid; I couldn't help but try to imagine what he expected would follow.

"I am gratified by his success," Aro mused. "Your memories of him are quite a gift for me, though they astonish me exceedingly. I am surprised by how it pleases me, his success in this unorthodox path he's chosen. I expected that he would waste, weaken with time. I'd scoffed at his plan to find others who would share his peculiar vision. Yet, somehow, I'm happy to be wrong."

Edward didn't reply.

"But your restraint!" Aro sighed. "I did not know such strength was possible. To inure yourself against such a siren call, not just once but again and again, if I had not felt it myself, I would not have believed."

Edward gazed back at Aro's admiration with no expression. I knew his face well enough, time had not changed that, to guess at something seething beneath the surface. I fought to keep my breathing even.

"Just remembering how she appeals to you…" Aro chuckled. "It makes me thirsty."

Edward tensed.

"Don't be disturbed," Aro reassured him. "I mean her no harm. But I am so curious, about one thing in particular." He eyed me with bright interest. "May I?" he asked eagerly, lifting one hand.

"Ask her," Edward suggested in a flat voice.

"Of course, how rude of me!" Aro exclaimed. "Bella," he addressed me directly now. "I'm fascinated that you are the one exception to Edward's impressive talent, so very interesting that such a thing should occur! And I was wondering, since our talents are similar in many ways, if you would be so kind as to allow me to try to see if you are an exception for me, as well?"

My eyes flashed up to Edward's face in terror. Despite Aro's overt politeness, I didn't believe I really had a choice. I was horrified at the thought of allowing him to touch me, and yet also perversely intrigued by the chance to feel his strange skin.

Edward nodded in encouragement, whether because he was sure Aro would not hurt me, or because there was no choice, I couldn't tell.

I turned back to Aro and raised my hand slowly in front of me. It was trembling.

He glided closer, and I believe he meant his expression to be reassuring. But his papery features were too strange, too alien and frightening, to reassure. The look on his face was more confident than his words had been.

Aro reached out, as if to shake my hand, and pressed his insubstantial-looking skin against mine. It was hard, but felt brittle, shale rather than granite, and even colder than I expected.

His filmy eyes smiled down at mine, and it was impossible to look away. They were mesmerizing in an odd, unpleasant way.

Aro's face altered as I watched. The confidence wavered and became first doubt, then incredulity before he calmed it into a friendly mask.

"So very interesting," he said as he released my hand and drifted back.

My eyes flickered to Edward, and, though his face was composed, I thought he seemed a little smug.

Aro continued to drift with a thoughtful expression. He was quiet for a moment, his eyes flickering between the three of us. Then, abruptly, he shook his head.

"A first," he said to himself "I wonder if she is immune to our other talents. Jane, dear?"

"No!" Edward snarled the word. Alice grabbed his arm with a restraining hand. He shook her off.

Little Jane smiled up happily at Aro. "Yes, Master?"

Edward was truly snarling now, the sound ripping and tearing from him, glaring at Jane with baleful eyes. The room had gone still, everyone watching him with amazed disbelief, as if he were committing some embarrassing social faux pas. That was until the unknown vampire Jane was previously being held by stepped forward.

Underneath his hood, where his eyes should have been located were two small orbs of fire. He stalked forward until he was in front of Jane in a protective manner, as his hands started to glow orange before the strange color started to crawl up towards his shoulders. His voice was musical, but at the same time more frightening than anything I had ever heard. "Touch one hair on her head and I will destroy not only your entire coven…but the Denali's, the Egyption's, the South Americans, and every other friend you have ever known!" 

Edward tensed up and froze, Aro and Felix were both grinning ear to ear as Aro spoke. "He loves her very much, and it showed after the first few months they were together. For several years, I could hardly get any work out of the pair. Teenagers and their hormones I suppose." He chuckled. "He would destroy the entire world if he knew it would protect her." He turned back to Edward, Alice, and myself. "The scary thing is…we would have no way to stop him if he chose to do so. He was such a surprise to us when we turned him fifteen years ago, and made quite the name for himself in such a short amount of time too. I am sure you have heard the whispers… of the one they call Firebrand. Taken out a dozen newborn armies by himself already."

Then he spoke to Jane, still with a smile on his face, as if Edward's outburst had been all but settled. "I was wondering, my dear one, if Bella is immune to you."

I could barely hear Aro over Edward's furious growls. He let go of me, moving to hide me from their view. Caius ghosted in our direction, with his entourage, to watch.

Jane turned toward us with a beatific smile.

"Don't!" Alice cried as Edward launched himself at the little girl.

Before I could react, before anyone could jump between them, before Aro's bodyguards could tense, Edward was on the ground.

No one had touched him, but he was on the stone floor writhing in obvious agony, while I stared in horror.

Jane was smiling only at him now, shockingly completely covered in fire. The man's orange colored hands and arms had now been explained as fire was shooting from his hands surrounding his mate. What was even stranger was that they seemed to not affect her, as if they were merely there to protect her. He seemed to be able to control the very element of fire itself, and it all clicked together. What Alice had said about formidable gifts, why everyone treated Jane and the others with such deference, and why Edward had thrown himself in her path before she could do that to me.

"Stop!" I shrieked, my voice echoing in the silence, jumping forward to put myself between them. But Alice threw her arms around me in an unbreakable grasp and ignored my struggles. No sound escaped Edward's lips as he cringed against the stones. It felt like my head would explode from the pain of watching this.

"Jane," Aro recalled her in a tranquil voice. She looked up quickly, still smiling with pleasure, her eyes questioning. As soon as Jane looked away, Edward was still and the fire receded from Jane's body, back into the man's arms before he wrapped them protectively back around Jane and pulled her into his body where she closed her eyes and relaxed into him.

Aro inclined his head toward me.

Jane turned her smile in my direction still in the arms of her lover, as if there was nowhere she would rather be.

I didn't even meet her gaze. I watched Edward from the prison of Alice's arms, still struggling pointlessly.

"He's fine," Alice whispered in a tight voice. As she spoke, he sat up, and then sprang lightly to his feet. His eyes met mine, and they were horror-struck. At first I thought the horror was for what he had just suffered. But then he looked quickly at Jane and her mate, and back to me, and his face relaxed into relief.

I looked at Jane, too, and she no longer smiled. She glared at me, her jaw clenched with the intensity of her focus. I shrank back, waiting for the pain.

Nothing happened.

Edward was by my side again. He touched Alice's arm, and she surrendered me to him.

Aro started to laugh. "Ha, ha. ha," he chuckled. "This is wonderful!"

Jane hissed in frustration, leaning forward like she was preparing to spring. Her hooded mate wrapped his arms tighter around her while whispering words of comfort that I could not hear to her. She started to calm down slightly when he started to kiss on her neck.

"Don't be put out, dear one," Aro said in a comforting tone. "She confounds us all…well not quite all of us." He said looking towards the man who could control fire. "However, I would not punish you to such a fate, my dear." He said looking back at me.

Jane's upper lip curled back ever her teeth as she continued to glare at me.

"Ha, ha, ha," Aro chortled again. "You're very brave, Edward, to endure in silence. I asked Jane to do that to me once, just out of curiosity." He shook his head in admiration.

Edward glared, disgusted.

"So what do we do with you now?" Aro sighed.

Edward and Alice stiffened. This was the part they'd been waiting for. I began to tremble.

"I don't suppose there's any chance that you've changed your mind?" Aro asked Edward hopefully. "Your talent would be an excellent addition to our little company."

Edward hesitated. From the corner of my eye, I saw both Felix and Jane grimace. The man holding her made no move of pleasure or dislike. He just stood there holding Jane.

Edward seemed to weigh each word before he spoke it. "I'd…rather not."

"Alice?" Aro asked, still hopeful. "Would you perhaps be interested in joining with us?"

"No, thank you," Alice said.

"And you, Bella?" Aro raised his eyebrows.

Edward hissed, low in my ears. I stared at Aro blankly. Was he joking? Or was he really asking me if I wanted to stay for dinner?

It was the white-haired Caius who broke the silence.

"What?" he demanded of Aro; his voice, though no more than a whisper, was flat.

"Caius, surely you see the potential," Aro chided him affectionately. "I haven't seen a prospective talent so promising since we found Jane and Alec, not counting you of course." He smiled towards the unnamed man. "Can you imagine the possibilities when she is one of us?" he said turning back to Caius.

Caius looked away with a caustic expression. Jane's eyes sparked with indignation at the comparison.

Edward fumed beside me. I could hear a rumble in his chest, building toward a growl. I couldn't let his temper get him hurt.

"No, thank you," I spoke up in barely more than a whisper, my voice breaking in fright.

Aro sighed. "That's unfortunate. Such a waste."

Edward hissed. "Join or die, is that it? I suspected as much when we were brought to this room. So much for your laws."

The tone of his voice surprised me. He sounded irate, but there was something deliberate about his delivery, as if he'd chosen his words with great care.

"Of course not." Aro blinked, astonished. "We were already convened here, Edward, awaiting Heidi's return. Not for you."

"Aro," Caius hissed. "The law claims them."

Edward glared at Caius. "How so?" he demanded. He must have known what Caius was thinking, but he seemed determined to make him speak it aloud.

Caius pointed a skeletal finger at me. "She knows too much. You have exposed our secrets." His voice was papery thin, just like his skin.

"There are a few humans in on your charade here, as well," Edward reminded him, and I thought of the pretty receptionist below.

Caius's face twisted into a new expression. Was it supposed to be a smile?

"Yes," he agreed. "But when they are no longer useful to us, they will serve to sustain us. That is not your plan for this one. If she betrays our secrets, are you prepared to destroy her? I think not," he scoffed.

"I wouldn't…" I began, still whispering. Caius silenced me with an icy look.

"Nor do you intend to make her one of us," Caius continued. "Therefore, she is a vulnerability. Though it is true, for this, only her life is forfeit. You may leave if you wish."

Edward bared his teeth.

"That's what I thought," Caius said, with something akin to pleasure. Felix leaned forward, eager.

"Unless…" Aro interrupted. He looked unhappy with the way the conversation had gone. "Unless you do intend to give her immortality?"

Edward pursed his lips, hesitating for a moment before he answered. "And if I do?"

Aro smiled, happy again. "Why, then you would be free to go home and give my regards to my friend Carlisle." His expression turned more hesitant. "But I'm afraid you would have to mean it."

Aro raised his hand in front of him.

Caius, who had begun to scowl furiously, relaxed.

Edward's lips tightened into a fierce line. He stared into my eyes, and I stared back.

"Mean it," I whispered. "Please."

Was it really such a loathsome idea? Would he rather die than change me? I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach.

Edward stared down at me with a tortured expression.

And then Alice stepped away from us, forward toward Aro. We turned to watch her. Her hand was raised like his.

She didn't say anything, and Aro waved off his anxious guard as they moved to block her approach. Aro met her halfway, and took her hand with an eager, acquisitive glint in his eyes.

He bent his head over their touching hands, his eyes closing as he concentrated. Alice was motionless, her face blank. I heard Edward's teeth snap together.

No one moved. Aro seemed frozen over Alice's hand. The seconds passed and I grew more and more stressed, wondering how much time would pass before it was too much time. Before it meant something was wrong, more wrong than it already was.

Another agonizing moment passed, and then Aro's voice broke the silence.

"Ha, ha, ha," he laughed, his head still bent forward. He looked up slowly, his eyes bright with excitement. "That was fascinating!"

Alice smiled dryly. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"To see the things you've seen, especially the ones that haven't happened yet!" He shook his head in wonder.

"But that will," she reminded him, voice calm.

"Yes, yes, it's quite determined. Certainly there's no problem."

Caius looked bitterly disappointed, a feeling he seemed to share with Felix and Jane. Again her mate seemed more like Marcus, uncaring…well except for when it came to Jane. Then he could truly scare the shit out of me.

"Aro," Caius complained.

"Dear Caius," Aro smiled. "Do not fret. Think of the possibilities! They do not join us today, but we can always hope for the future. Imagine the joy young Alice alone would bring to our little household. Besides, I'm so terribly curious to see how Bella turns out!"

Aro seemed convinced. Did he not realize how subjective Alice's visions were? That she could make up her mind to transform me today, and then change it tomorrow? A million tiny decisions, her decisions and so many others too. Edward could alter her path, and with that, the future.

And would it really matter that Alice was willing, would it make any difference if I did become a vampire, when the idea was so repulsive to Edward? If death was, to him, a better alternative than having me around forever as an immortal annoyance? Terrified as I was, I felt myself sinking down into depression, drowning in it.

"Then we are free to go now?" Edward asked in an even voice.

"Yes, yes," Aro said pleasantly. "But please visit again. It's been absolutely enthralling!"

"And we will visit you as well," Caius promised, his eyes suddenly half-closed like the heavy-lidded gaze of a lizard. "To be sure that you follow through on your side. Were I you, I would not delay too long. We do not offer second chances."

Edward's jaw clenched tight, but he nodded once.

Caius smirked and drifted back to where Marcus still sat, unmoving and uninterested.

Felix groaned.

"Ah, Felix." Aro smiled, amused. "Heidi will be here at any moment. Patience."

"Hmm." Edward's voice had a new edge to it. "In that case, perhaps we'd better leave sooner rather than later."

"Yes," Aro agreed. "That's a good idea. Accidents do happen. Please wait below until after dark, though, if you don't mind."

"Of course," Edward agreed, while I cringed at the thought of waiting out the day before we could escape.

"And here," Aro added, motioning to Felix with one finger. Felix came forward at once, and Aro unfastened the gray cloak the huge vampire wore, pulling from his shoulders. He tossed it to Edward. "Take this. You're a little conspicuous."

Edward put the long cloak on, leaving the hood down.

Aro sighed. "It suits you."

Edward chuckled, but broke off suddenly, glancing over his shoulder. "Thank you, Aro. We'll wait below."

"Goodbye, young friends," Aro said, his eyes bright as he stared in the same direction.

"Let's go," Edward said, urgent now.

Demetri gestured that we should follow, and then set off the way we'd come in, the only exit by the look of things.

Edward pulled me swiftly along beside him. Alice was close by my other side, her face hard.

"Not fast enough," she muttered.

I stared up at her, frightened, but she only seemed chagrined. It was then that I first heard the babble of voices, loud, rough voices coming from the antechamber.

"Well this is unusual," a man's coarse voice boomed.

"So medieval," an unpleasantly shrill, female voice gushed back.

A large crowd was coming through the little door, filling the smaller stone chamber. Demetri motioned for us to make room. We pressed back against the cold wall to let them pass.

The couple in front, Americans from the sound of them, glanced around themselves with appraising eyes.

"Welcome, guests! Welcome to Volterra!" I could hear Aro sing from the big turret room.

The rest of them, maybe forty or more, filed in after the couple. Some studied the setting like tourists. A few even snapped pictures. Others looked confused, as if the story that had led them to this room was not making sense anymore. I noticed one small, dark woman in particular. Around her neck was a rosary, and she gripped the cross tightly in one hand. She walked more slowly than the others, touching someone now and then and asking a question in an unfamiliar language. No one seemed to understand her, and her voice grew more panicked.

Edward pulled my face against his chest, but it was too late. I already understood.

As soon as the smallest break appeared, Edward pushed me quickly toward the door. I could feel the horrified expression on my face, and the tears beginning to pool in my eyes.

The ornate golden hallway was quiet, empty except for one gorgeous, statuesque woman. She stared at us curiously, me in particular.

"Welcome home, Heidi," Demetri greeted her from behind us.

Heidi smiled absently. She reminded me of Rosalie, though they looked nothing alike, it was just that her beauty, too, was exceptional, unforgettable. I couldn't seem to look away.

She was dressed to emphasize that beauty. Her amazingly long legs, darkened with tights, were exposed by the shortest of miniskirts. Her top was long-sleeved and high-necked, but extremely close-fitting, and constructed of red vinyl. Her long mahogany hair was lustrous, and her eyes were the strangest shade of violet, a color that might result from blue-tinted contacts over red irises.

"Demetri," she responded in a silky voice, her eyes flickering between my face and Edward's gray cloak.

"Nice fishing," Demetri complimented her, and I suddenly understood the attention-grabbing outfit she wore…she was not only the fisherman, but also the bait.

"Thanks." She flashed a stunning smile. "Aren't you coming?"

"In a minute. Save a few for me."

Heidi nodded and ducked through the door with one last curious look at me.

Edward set a pace that had me running to keep up. But we still couldn't get through the ornate door at the end of the hallway before the screaming started.

**AN: **I jumped the timeline up a few years in Twilight to make it closer to modern time. Also a large chunk of this was from New Moon, chapters 20-21, with some additions mixed in. Unfortunately it was necessary to introduce the relationship between Jane and Harry, along with a taste of his powers and his role in the Volturi. This was also to set up Harry and Jane's reasons for going to Forks, which will be explained more in the next chapter.


	3. A Forks in the Road

**AN: Harry Potter/Twilight crossover, not too far into any forks activity, but my initial thoughts would have been an Alice or Leah pairing for Harry.**

**Disclaimer: Portions of this chapter can be found in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.**

* * *

><p>Dudley backed in the alley wall. I was pointing my wand directly at his heart. I could feel fourteen years' of hatred of Dudley pounding in my veins...what wouldn't I give to strike now, to jinx Dudley so thoroughly he'd have to crawl home like an insect, struck dumb, sprouting feelers...<p>

"Don't ever talk about that again!" I snarled. "D'you understand me?"

"Point that thing somewhere else!"

"I said, _do you understand _me?"

"_Point it somewhere else!_"

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"

"GET THAT THING AWAY FROM..."

Dudley gave an odd, shuddering gasp, as though he had been doused in icy water.

Something had happened to the night. The star-strewn indigo sky was suddenly pitch black and lightless...the starts, the moon, the misty streetlamps at either end of the alley had vanished. The distant rumble of cars and the whisper of trees had gone. The balmy evening was suddenly piercingly, bitingly cold. We were surrounded by total, impenetrable, silent darkness, as though some giant hand had dropped a thick, icy mantle over the entire alleyway, blinding us.

For a split second I thought I had done magic without meaning to, despite the face that I'd been resisting as hard as I could...then my reason caught up with my senses...I didn't have the power to turn off the stars. I turned my head this way and that, trying to see something, but the darkness pressed on my eyes like a weightless veil.

Dudley's terrified voice broke in my ear. "W-What are you d-doing? St-stop it!"

"I'm not doing anything! Shut up and don't move!"

"I c-can't see! I've g-gone blind! I.."

"I said shut up!"

I stood stock still, turning my sightless eyes left and right. The cold was so intense I was shivering all over; goose bumps had erupted on my arms and the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up...i opened my eyes to their fullest extent, staring blankly around, unseeing.

It was impossible...they couldn't be here...not in Little Whinging...i strained my ears...i would hear them before I saw them.

"I'll t-tell dad!" Dudley whimpered. "W-where are you? What are you d-do...?"

"Will you shut up?" I hissed. "I'm trying to lis..."

I fell silent. I had heard just the thing I had been dreading.

There was something in the alleyway apart from ourselves, something that was drawing long, hoarse, rattling breaths. I felt a horrible jolt of dread as I stood trembling in the freezing air.

"C-cut it out! Stop doing it! I'll h-hit you, I swear I will!"

"Dudley, shut..."

WHAM!

A fist made contact with the side of my head, lifting me off of my feet. Small white lights popped in front of my eyes. For the second time in an hour I felt as though my head had been cleaved in two; next moment, I had landed hard on the ground and my wand had flown out of my hand.

"You moron, Dudley!" I yelled, my eyes watering with pain as I scrambled to my hand and knees, feeling around frantically in the blackness. I heard Dudley blundering away, hitting the alley fence, stumbling.

"DUDLEY, COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT!"

There was a horrible squealing yell and Dudley's footsteps stopped. At the same moment, I felt a creeping chill behind me that could mean only one thing. There was more than one.

"DUDLEY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! Wand!" I muttered frantically, my hands flying over the ground like spiders. "Where's...wand...come on! _Lumos!"_

I said the spell automatically, desperate for light to help me in my search. To my disbelieving relief, light flared inches from my right hand...the wand tip had ignited. I snatched it up, scrambled to my feet and turned around.

My stomach turned over...

A towering, hooded figure was gliding smoothing towards me, hovering over the ground, no feet or face visible beneath its robes, sucking on the night as it came.

Stumbling backwards, I raised my wand. "_Expecto patronum!"_

A silvery wisp of vapor shot from the tip of the wand and the Dementor slowed, but the spell hadn't worked properly; tripping over my own feet, I retreated further as the Dementor bore down upon me, panic fogging my brain. 'Concentrate!' I told myself.

A pair of gray, slimy, scabbed hands slid from inside the Dementor's robes, reaching for me. A rushing noise filled my ears.

"_Expecto patronum!"_ My voice sounded dim and distant. Another wisp of silver smoke, feebler than the last, drifted from the wand...i couldn't do it any more. I couldn't work the spell.

There was laughter inside my own head, shrill, high-pitched laughter...i could smell the Dementor's putrid, death-cold breath filling my own lungs, drowning me. "_Think...something happy!"_

But there was no happiness in me...the Dementor's icy fingers were closing on my throat, the high-pitched laughter was growing louder and louder. A voice spoke inside my head: '_Bow to death, Harry...it might even be painless. I would not know, I have never died..."_

I was never going to see Ron or Hermoine again. Their face burst clearly into my mind as I fought for breath.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

An enormous silver stag erupted from the tip of my wand; its antlers caught the Dementor in the place where the heart should have been. It was thrown backwards, weightless as darkness, and as the stag charged, the Dementor swooped away, bat-like and defeated.

"THIS WAY!" I shouted at the stag. Wheeling around, I sprinted down the alleyway, holding the lit wand aloft. "DUDLEY? DUDLEY!"

I had run barely a dozen steps when I reached them. Dudley was curled up on the ground, his arms clamped over his face. A second Dementor was crouching low over him, gripping his wrists in its slimy hands, prising them slowly almost lovingly apart. It was lowering its hooded head towards Dudley's face as though about to kiss him.

"GET IT!" I bellowed, and with a rushing, roaring sound, the sliver stag I had conjured came galloping past me. The Dementor's eyeless face was barely an inch from Dudley's when the sliver antlers caught it. The thing was thrown up into the air and, like its fellow, it soared away and was absorbed intot he darkness. The stag cantered to the end of the alleyway and dissolved into silver mist.

Moon, starts, and streetlamps burst back into life. A warm breeze swept the alleyway. Trees rustled in the neighboring gardens and the mundane rumble of cars in Magnolia Crescent filled the air again.

I stood up quite still, all my senses vibrating, taking in the abrupt return to normality. After a moment, I became aware that my T-shirt was sticking to me. I was drenched in sweat.

I could not believe what had just happened. Dementors _here, _in Little Whinging.

Dudley lay curled up on the ground, whimpering and shaking. I bent down to see whether he was in a fit state to stand up, but then I heard loud, running footsteps behind me. Instinctively raising my wand again, I spun on my heel to face the newcomer.

Mrs. Figg, the batty old neighbor, came panting into sight. Her grizzled gray hair was escaping from its hairnet, a clanking string shopping back was swinging from her wrist and her feet were halfway out of her tartan carpet slippers. I made to stow my wand hurriedly out of sight, but...

"Don't put it away idiot boy!" she shrieked. "What if there are more of them around? Oh, I'm going to _kill _Mundungus Fletcher!

"What?" I asked blankly.

"He left!" she answered, wringing her hands. "Left to see someone about a batch of cauldrons that fell off the back of a broom! I told him I'd flay him alive if he went, and now look! Dementors! It's just lucky I put Mr. Tibbles on the case! But we haven't got time to stand around! Hurry, now, we've got to get you back! Oh, the trouble this is going to cause! I will kill him!"

"But..." the revelation that my batty old cat-obsessed neighbor knew what Dementors were was almost as big a shock to me as meeting two of them down the alleyway. "You're...You're a witch?"

"I'm a Squib, as Mundungus knows full well, so how on earth was I supposed to help you fight off Dementors? He left you completely without cover when I'd warned him..."

"This Mundungus has been following me? Hang on...it was him! He Disapparated from the front of my house!"

"Yes, yes, yes, but luckily I'd stationed Mr. Tibbles under a car just in case, and Mr. Tibbles came and warned me, but by the time I got to your house you'd gone...and now...oh, what's Dumbledore going to say? You!" she shrieked at Dudley, still supine on the alley floor. "Get your fat bottom off the ground, quick!"

"You know Dumbledore?" I asked, staring at her.

"Of course I know Dumbledore, who doesn't know Dumbledore? But come on...I'll be no help if they come back, I've never so much as Transfigured a teabag."

She stooped down, seized one of Dudley's massive arms in her wizened hands and tugged. "Get up, you useless lump, get up!"

But Dudley either could not or would not move. He remained on the ground, trembling and ashen-faced, his mouth shut very tight.

"I'll do it." I took hold of Dudleys arm and heaved. With an enormous effort I managed to hoist him to his feet. Dudley seemed to be on the point of fainting. His small eyes were rolling in their sockets and sweat was beading his face; the moment I let go of him he swayed dangerously.

"Hurry up!" said Mrs Figg hysterically.

I pulled one of Dudley's massive arms around my own shoulders and dragged him towards the road, sagging slightly under the weight. Mrs Figg tottered along in front of us, peering anxiously around the corner.

"Keep your wand out." she told me, as we entered Wisteria Walk. "Never mind the Statute of Secrecy now, there's going to be hell to pay anyway, we might as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg. Talk about the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery...this was exactly what Dumbledore was afraid of. What's that at the end of the street? Oh, it's just Mr Prentice...don't put your wand away, boy, don't I keep telling you I'm no use?"

It was not easy to hold a wand steady and haul Dudley along at the same time. I gave my cousin an impatient dig in the ribs, but Dudley seemed to have lost all desire for independent movement. He was slumped on my shoulder, his large feet dragging along the ground.

"Why didn't you tell me you're a Squib, Mrs Figg?" I asked, panting with the effort to keep walking. "All those times I came round your house...why didn't you say anything?"

"Dumbledore's orders. I was to keep an eye on you but not say anything, you were too young. I'm sorry I gave you such a miserable time, Harry, but the Dursleys would never have let you come if they'd thought you enjoyed it. It wasn't easy, you know...but oh my word!" she said tragically, wringing her hands once more. "When Dumbledore hears about this...how could Mundungus have left! He was supposed to be on duty until midnight. Where is he? How am I going to tell Dumbledore what's happened? I can't Apparate!"

"I've got an owl, you can borrow her." I groaned, wondering whether my spine was going to snap under Dudley's weight.

"Harry, you don't understand! Dumbledore will need to act as quickly as possible, the Ministry have their own ways of detecting underage magic, they'll know already, you mark my words."

"But I was getting rid of Dementors, I had to use magic...they're going to be more worried about what Dementors were doing floating around Wisteria Walk, surely?"

"Oh, my dear, I wish it were so, but I'm afraid...MUNDUNGUS FLETCHER, I AM

GOING TO KILL YOU!"

There was a loud crack and a strong smell of drink mingled with stale tobacco filled the air as a squat, unshaven man in a tattered overcoat materialized right in front of them. He had short, bandy legs, long straggly ginger hair and bloodshot, baggy eyes that gave him the doleful look of a basset hound. He was also clutching a silvery bundle that Harry recognized at once as an Invisibility Cloak.

"S'up, Figgy?" he said, staring from Mrs Figg to me and Dudley. "What 'appened to

staying undercover?"

"I'll give you undercover!" cried Mrs Figg. "Dementors, you useless, skiving sneak thief!"

"Dementors?" repeated Mundungus, aghast. "Dementors, 'ere?"

"Yes, here, you worthless pile of bat droppings, here!" shrieked Mrs Figg. "Dementors

attacking the boy on your watch!"

"Blimey." said Mundungus weakly, looking from Mrs Figg to me, and back again. "Blimey, I..."

"And you off buying stolen cauldrons! Didn't I tell you not to go? Didn't I?"

"I...well, I..." Mundungus looked deeply uncomfortable. "It...it was a very good business

opportunity, see..."

Mrs Figg raised the arm from which her string bag dangled and whacked Mundungus

around the face and neck with it; judging by the clanking noise it made it was full of cat

food.

"Ouch...gerroff...gerroff, you mad old bat! Someone's gotta tell Dumbledore!"

"Yes...they...have!" yelled Mrs Figg, swinging the bag of cat food at every bit of Mundungus she could reach. "And it had better be you! You can tell him why you weren't there to help!"

"Keep your 'airnet on!" said Mundungus, his arms over his head, cowering. "I'm going, I'm

going!"

And with another loud crack, he vanished.

"I hope Dumbledore murders him!" said Mrs. Figg furiously. "Now come on, Harry, what

are you waiting for?"

I decided not to waste my remaining breath on pointing out that I could barely walk under Dudley's bulk. I gave the semi-conscious Dudley a heave and staggered onwards.

"I'll take you to the door." said Mrs. Figg, as we turned into Privet Drive. "Just in case there are more of them around...oh my word, what a catastrophe...and you had to fight them off yourself...and Dumbledore said we were to keep you from doing magic at all costs...well, it's no good crying over spilt potion, I suppose...but the cat's among the pixies now."

"So?" I panted, "Dumbledores...been having...me followed?"

"Of course he has." said Mrs Figg impatiently. "Did you expect him to let you wander around on your own after what happened in June? Good Lord, boy, they told me you

were intelligent...right...get inside and stay there." she said, as we reached number four. "I expect someone will be in touch with you soon enough."

"What are you going to do?" I asked quickly.

"I'm going straight home." said Mrs Figg, staring around the dark street and shuddering.

Til need to wait for more instructions. Just stay in the house. Goodnight."

"Hang on, don't go yet! I want to know..."

But Mrs Figg had already set off at a trot, carpet slippers flopping, string bag clanking. "Wait!" I shouted after her. I had a million questions to ask anyone who was in contact with Dumbledore; but

within seconds Mrs Figg was swallowed by the darkness.

Scowling, I readjusted Dudley on his shoulder and made his slow, painful way up number four's garden path. The hall light was on. I stuck my wand back inside the waistband of his jeans, rang the bell and watched Aunt Petunia's outline grow larger and larger, oddly distorted by the rippling glass in the front door.

"Diddy! About time too, I was getting quite...quite...Diddy, what's the matter?"

I looked sideways at Dudley and ducked out from under his arm just in time. Dudley swayed on the spot for a moment, his face pale green...then he opened his mouth and vomited all over the doormat.

"DIDDY! Diddy, what's the matter with you? Vernon? VERNON!"

My uncle came galumphing out of the living room, walrus moustache blowing hither and thither as it always did when he was agitated. He hurried forwards to help Aunt Petunia negotiate a weak-kneed Dudley over the threshold while avoiding stepping in the pool of sick.

"He's ill, Vernon!"

"What is it, son? What's happened? Did Mrs Polkiss give you something foreign for tea?"

"Why are you all covered in dirt, darling? Have you been lying on the ground?"

"Hang on...you haven't been mugged, have you, son?"

Aunt Petunia screamed. "Phone the police, Vernon! Phone the police! Diddy, darling, speak to Mummy! What did they do to you?"

In all the kerfuffle nobody seemed to have noticed me standing there, which suited me perfectly. I

managed to slip inside just before Uncle Vernon slammed the door and, while the Dursleys made their noisy progress down the hall towards the kitchen, I moved carefully and quietly towards the stairs.

"Who did it, son? Give us names. We'll get them, don't worry."

"Shh! He's trying to say something, Vernon! What is it, Diddy? Tell Mummy!"

My foot was on the bottom-most stair when Dudley found his voice. "Him."

I froze, foot on the stair, face screwed up, braced for the explosion. "BOY! COME HERE!"

With a feeling of mingled dread and anger, I removed my foot slowly from the stair and turned to follow the Dursleys. The scrupulously clean kitchen had an oddly unreal glitter after the darkness outside. Aunt Petunia was ushering Dudley into a chair; he was still very green and clammy-looking. Uncle Vernon was standing in front of the draining board, glaring at Harry through tiny, narrowed eyes.

"What have you done to my son?" he said in a menacing growl.

"Nothing!" I said, knowing perfectly well that Uncle Vernon wouldn't believe me.

"What did he do to you, Diddy?" Aunt Petunia said in a quavering voice, now sponging sick from the front of Dudley's leather jacket. "Was it...was it you-know-what, darling? Did he use...his thing?"

Slowly, tremulously, Dudley nodded.

"I didn't!" I said sharply, as Aunt Petunia let out a wail and Uncle Vernon raised his fists. "I didn't do anything to him, it wasn't me, it was..."

But at that precise moment a screech owl swooped in through the kitchen window. Narrowly missing the top of Uncle Vernon's head, it soared across the kitchen, dropped the large parchment envelope it was carrying in its beak at my feet, turned gracefully, the tips of its wings just brushing the top of the fridge, then zoomed outside again and off across the garden.

"OWLS!" bellowed Uncle Vernon, the well-worn vein in his temple pulsing angrily as he

slammed the kitchen window shut. "OWLS AGAIN! I WILL NOT HAVE ANY MORE OWLS IN MY HOUSE!"

But I was already ripping open the envelope and pulling out the letter inside, my heart pounding somewhere in the region of my Adam's apple.

_Dear Mr Potter, _

_ We have received intelligence that you performed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past nine this evening in a Muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a Muggle. _

_The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand. _

_As you have already received an official warning for a previous offense under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform you that your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 a.m. on the twelfth of August. _

_Hoping you are well, _

_Mafalda Hopkirk _

_Improper Use of Magic Office _

_Ministry of Magic_

I read the letter through twice.

I was only vaguely aware of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia talking. Inside my head, all was icy and numb. One fact had penetrated my consciousness like a paralyzing dart. I was expelled from Hogwarts. It was all over. I was never going back.

It just didn't all add up. There was just no way that Voldemort could have taken control of the Dementors so fast, so what were they doing here in Surrey? They should still be under control of the ministry. Of course even if Voldemort did have them the damn ministry wouldn't believe it, if what the Prophet had been saying was of any evidence.

I mean, I know Fudge doesn't want to believe that Voldemort is back, but this was ridiculous. He was obviously behind what the Prophet had been printing. What was Fudge thinking? Is he insane? It's one thing to not believe me and Dumbledore, but this...what sense does it make for him to have the prophet attack me? He can't be certain that I am wrong. Can he? Any sensible person would at least allow for the possibility that I was right and investigate what I had said about Voldemort being back. This attack on me makes no sense at all.

Suddenly with a dawning sense of horror, I came to the only logical conclusion that the information I possessed allowed me... "Fudge has to be in league with Voldemort." I whispered to myself. That's the only way this would make sense. I should have seen it sooner seeing as he has been living out of Malfoy's pockets. Obviously Voldemort's not ready to announce his return, and is using Fudge and the Prophet to discredit me so that no one will believe me when I say he's back. Not wanting to take any chances either Voldemort of the Ministry must have sent those Dementors after me...after all, nobody else could order them around. Seeing as that didn't work now they are going to take away my ability to use magic!

I looked up at the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon was purple-faced, shouting, his fists still raised; Aunt Petunia had her arms around Dudley, who was retching again. My temporarily stupefied brain seemed to reawaken. Ministry representatives will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wand.

There was only one thing for it. I would have to run...now. Where I was going to go, I didn't know, but I was certain of one thing: at Hogwarts or outside it, I needed my wand. In an almost dreamlike state, I pulled my wand out and turned to leave the kitchen.

"Where d'you think you're going?" yelled Uncle Vernon. When I didn't reply, he pounded across the kitchen to block the doorway in to the hall. "I haven't finished with you, boy!"

"Get out of the way!" I said quietly.

"You're going to stay here and explain how my son..."

"If you don't get out of the way I'm going to jinx you." I told him, raising the wand.

"You can't pull that one on me!" snarled Uncle Vernon. "I know you're not allowed to use it outside that madhouse you call a school!"

"The madhouse has chucked me out!" I yelled. "So I can do whatever I like. You've got three seconds. One...two..." I was running out of time. The ministry could be here at any second and I needed to go, so I decided to just skip over three all together. "_Stupify!"_

I hurriedly made my way up to my room to pack, as Petunia screamed and ran to help my pitiful uncle. As I was throwing my belonging into my trunk, I tried to figure out just where I was going to go. My first instinct was to head to Hogwarts, and see Dumbledore.

The problem I could see with that plan was the fact that the Prophet had been running mine and Dumbledore's names through the mud since we told them of Voldemort's resurrection and I didn't even know if Dumbledore even had the pull to handle this situation. I knew he had already been taken off of the ICW as well as him losing his place as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

I couldn't even send a letter to Sirius or one of my friends as apparently it is unsafe to do so. At least that was their reasons for not writing to me this summer, and I didn't want to risk it if the Ministry was looking for me.

I didn't have much time left to come up with a plan so I went with plan...well whatever the last plan you could come up with in a dire situation can be called...I was going to have to leave the wizarding world and hide out in the muggle world.

First thing I would need to do would be to get to Gringotts and empty my vaults. I just hoped that the Potter family account manager would be greedy enough to let me bribe him into emptying my vault early, as I did not have permission to enter it until I reached seventeen.

Finally I had everything packed, I was changed into a set of robes with a hood, Hedwig was released and told to find me in a week or so, and I was on my Firebolt headed at top speed towards London. Thankfully it was late, and the Alley wouldn't be very crowded. I left only minutes before Mr. Weasley's letter would arrive to tell me to stay put and that Dumbledore was taking care of the situation.

During my flight I started to plan where exactly I was going to go. I knew I would have to move to America as they had been on horrible terms with England for hundreds of years and were the least likely country to cooperate with the British if they were to find me. I didn't know much about the United States, but I knew that I was going to find the spot furthest from England that was also decently isolated. Living in the city would just have to much of a chance of someone recognizing me. I would have to find a nice small town that had no chance of witches and wizards dwelling there.

It was almost midnight when I finally touched down in an alley on the muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron. I threw my hood up and quickly made my way through the pub and down the alley towards the goblin bank.

Once I had made my way up the white marble stairs and into the bank I quickly made my way over to an available teller.

"Next." the goblin said with a bored voice.

I quickly stepped up before lowering my hood briefly so the goblin could identify me, before once more hiding my face. "Yes, I would like to speak with the Potter family account manager please. I hate to rush you but I am in a bit of a hurry." I half whispered to him.

The goblins mouth twisted into what could have been a sneer or a grin, hell I couldn't tell and didn't have time to try. "Very well, Wizard. If you would follow me please." the goblin hopped down from his stool and surprising made his way through a side door with speed that belied his size.

Quickly following the goblin made my way through the corridors until he stopped me outside of a bronze door with a plaque that read Buckwheat – Account Manager. The goblin went inside and closed the door, but returned only moments later. "Buckwheat will see you now. Good day Mr. Potter."

"Ah, Mr. Potter." the goblin greeted me as I made my way into his office. "How can I be of service to you today?"

I knew that goblins did like to waste time, and with the ministry after me I didn't have time to spare anyhow so I got straight to the point. "I need to know how much it will take to bribe you into letting me have my family vault converted mostly to muggle money and stored in a muggle bank. I would also like to keep around twenty percent of it in gold also stored in a muggle bank."

Buckwheat frowned for a moment, but I could still make out his thoughtful expression when he answered. "You are aware that what you are asking of me is illegal, correct Mr. Potter?"

I nod my head in admission. "I do. However, I am hopeful that we can still come to an agreement that will be beneficial to each other."

"If it were to be discovered, Gringotts would have my head. I feel I can do this for no less than 5% of your total vault value." he said finally.

I didn't know exactly how much 5% would give him, but if anything I kept hearing about how rich my family was supposed to be, I knew it was a huge amount. "3%." I countered.

Buckwheat frowned for a moment. "4% and a magical contract that states all dealings done today stay strictly between the pair of us, and that is my final answer Mr. Potter."

I was running out of time and I still needed the goblins help to get set up in the muggle world. "5% and the contract for you. However, you provide me with a completely new identity for the muggle and magical world, find me a place to live in the far side of America in an out of the way location. I will also need to acquire the proper materials to catch up with muggle schooling. I will also need a way to secretly get to my new home as fast as possible without the ministry finding out about me."

Buckwheat, who had been writing things down on parchment, finally set down his quill and looked back to me. "Very well, Mr. Potter. We have ourselves an agreement. Everything can be taken care of relatively quickly. Our only obstacle to overcome will be with your new name. The muggle world is no matter, but in order for your new identity to take hold in the wizarding world, you can only magically change your last name to one with which you share blood."

I knew that my family was most pureblooded until recently but I had no idea exactly who I shared blood with. "What are my options Buckwheat?"

"Lets find out shall we." he replied reaching for a folder from the shelf behind him. Once more we were immersed in silence while Buckwheat flipped through papers while scribbling things down on parchment. After a few minutes he once more set down his quill.

"Your options, Mr. Potter, are between the Evans Family, the Black Family, the Peverell Family, and the Gryffindor family. You can of course either keep your first name or change it to whatever you so wish."

In another time I may have been excited to find out I was indeed related to Godric Gryffindor, however that name would stand out far too much and was scratched immediately. Evans was as well black listed as it was well known as my mothers last name. The Black Family was well known and any new members popping up might catch peoples eyes. The Peverell's I had never heard of before.

"Buckwheat, what can you tell me about the Peverell Family. Are they well known and would it raise too many questions if a new member was to surface?" I asked the goblin.

"The Peverell family used to be a very prominent family, and is the source for a wizarding fairy tale. However, the line has been extinct for a few hundred years and there are only a few who even remember the name. I daresay you should be quite alright to choose that name." he told me.

I didn't have the time to come up with a completely new name so I told him. "Very well. Make my new name Harrison 'Harry' James Peverell."

Buckwheat spent the next fifteen minutes furiously scribbling away and sending out letters to other goblins with instruction written on them. Over the course of the next hour several goblins had delivered stacks of folders along with a single galleon. Buckwheat spent a few minutes organizing the pile before he spoke.

"First, I will need you to read over and sign our contract before we continue."

He slid over a piece of official looking parchment. I took hold of it and gave it a cursory read through. It was pretty simple. Basically making it so that neither of us spoke about me emptying my bank vault, as well as Buckwheat not mentioning where I would be living as it had also been kept off of the Gringott's records. I quickly grabbed the fancy black quill he handed me before quickly signing my name. I ignore the pain in my back hand as I finish.

"Now that we have that out of the way, you will need to sign off on your new identity."

Another sheet of parchment was slid over to me and I signed it with the painful quill again. This time I gave him a quizzical look. "It is a blood quill Mr. Potter. A bit painful but completely harmless in limited use."

Nodding my head in understanding I took the next sheet of parchment he slid over to me. "This Mr. Peverell is your new bank account information. You will read there that 5% of the gold has gone to myself, 20% of the gold has went to a muggle bank vault in Seattle, Washington. The other 75% percent has been converted to muggle money and a new account made with it with a muggle bank in Switzerland."

I read over the paperwork and saw that while I only had about 10 million galleons in my family vault to begin with, the galleon must be worth quite a bit of muggle money just in its gold quantities. 75% of that gold was able to be transferred into just over 10 billion U.S. Dollars. That was beside the fact that I had roughly 2 million galleons still in a muggle bank vault. I knew I would be set for life.

"We have made reservations for you for the next few weeks in a hotel in Seattle, Washington while your house is being built. With your money of course, we have purchased a large plot of land near Forks, Washington and a sizable house will be built for you on that location. You are currently being enrolled into the muggle school there as well, and you will have their last four years curriculum sent to you in memory form, along with a Gringott's pensieve which must be returned when you have finished. Will there be anything else, Mr. Potter?" he asked.

When I shook my head he continued. "Very well, this galleon will act as a portkey to your new property. It is nothing fancy in wizarding terms, but it should serve you well in the muggle world. Enjoy your life, Mr. Potter. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

"Thank you, Buckwheat." I told him reaching for the galleon. "Enjoy your 5%!" I added as I was whisked away from England for the first and last time.


	4. Two Black Forks

**AN: Another Harry Potter/Twilight Crossover idea that plagued me over the years. Again it was just the transition from the wizarding world to forks, which I find to be the part that is hardest to make believable. Not sure how well done this one turned out, but to get it out of my head it had to be written down lol.**

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><p><strong>Harry POV<strong>

It was two days after what was now being dubbed, the Battle of Hogwarts. It was just after midnight and I found myself sitting in front of the fire in the drawing room at Grimmauld Place. I was halfway through a bottle of firewhiskey and was staring at a letter I had received from Gringotts for what must have been the twentieth time.

_Dear Mr. Potter-Black_

_ Due to your involvement in a recent break-in of one of our vaults, we are sending you this missive to inform you that your vaults are currently frozen by rights of the Treaty of 1283 Article 7 part C subsection 3. We are currently assessing the damage caused during your breakout attempt and will automatically bill your accounts accordingly when an assessment has been finished._

_ We would like to stress upon you the seriousness of your transgressions against the goblin nation and would like to inform you that until our investigation and assessment has been completed your visitation rights to the bank are revoked, even after the bank has reopened. In the likely occurrence that the Potter and Black vaults do not hold sufficient funds to make the necessary repairs a further bill will be sent to you via owl._

_Lord Ragnok_

_High Goblin of Gringotts._

I knew how the goblins worked and how likely it would be that the 'assessment' for the damage would probably equal a very considerable amount. Both the Potter and Black accounts held millions of galleons each, but they would probably be stripped clean by the time they were done.

It was bad enough that I had to deal with the death of more people than I could count, none more so than the death of Ron, who had been my best mate since he first entered the wizarding world. The list of people I had personally known that were now dead after the last battle had grown so large, I didn't think he could even count them on all of my fingers and toes.

The only one I still had was Hermione who had decided to stay with me at Grimmauld Place. I had offered to help her track down her parents and help restore their memories, but she confirmed what I had already guessed. The only way she could truly protect her parents had been to completely wipe out their memories of her with absolutely no chance of recovering them if Voldemort had captured them and tried. I had spent hours consoling my crying best friend after that realization.

Deciding that I would deal with the goblins later, I set the letter down on the side table and refilled my glass of firewhiskey before offering a cursory glance to today's Prophet before deciding against just angering myself even more. The day after I had killed Voldemort I was all praises and once again their hero, but I had only been given one day of reprieve before the Rita Skeeters of the wizarding world were once more back on me, questioning if I was the next dark lord or not.

I sighed as I stood up and stretched before calling for Kreature. "Master, what can Kreature be doing for you, sir!" the old elf asked almost excitedly.

"Can you set this letter on my desk upstairs please? I will deal with it later." I asked the old elf.

"Yes master." Kreature responded picking up the letter, giving it a glance over. Just as he was about to pop away, he froze as the letter caught his attention. "Is nasty goblins trying to take the Black fortune master?" he asked with a scared look.

"Yeah, it would seem that it is their plan." I sighed turning back towards the crazed elf.

Kreature's faced looked murderous and he started to mumble under his breath before he spoke out loud. "Kreature will not allow filthy goblins to steal from the Black family. Kreature will go to the vault and take out all of our gold!"

It took a minute for me to register exactly what it was Kreature had said. "You mean to tell me you can still get into the Black family vault? I thought the goblins had the place on lockdown until it they completed repairs?"

"Yes Kreature can master. Goblins have the bank on lockdown because some of the wards had to be taken down while they do the repairs...the main one among them are the wards that stop elf apparition throughout the bank. After all the goblins use house elf magic to clean and do repairs as they cannot make repairs as fast as elves or dwarves."

"Are the wards down in the Potter vaults too and can you access them?" I asked hoping that all might not be lost in the end.

"Of course master. All of the wards the goblins have against elf apparition are down. I can enter any vault you own or vaults that have gone silent with the death of the last member of that family."

My ears immediately perked up at that news. "You mean to tell me that the vaults to most of the dead death eaters whose family lines have ended are sitting unguarded and with nobody to miss their contents?"

The elf gave me an evil grin as he answered. "You are correct master...would you like Kreature to empty a few of them as well?"

"One moment Kreature." I responded hastily as he started thumbing through the stack of newspapers on the side table to find the article I was looking for. After a few minutes I found it.

"Kreature I want you to take Hermione's beaded bag and empty out the Potter and Black vaults of everything and I want you to also empty the vaults to every family name on that list. I want you to store it all here at Grimmauld Place and make sure nobody else can enter the manor except for those currently here when you get back from your first run." the list that I had handed him was a list of the now extinct families thanks to the deaths of the death eaters during the battle of Hogwarts. Thankfully the only names that actually warranted being listed according to the Prophet were the rich pureblood families and the list was quite long. All of that gold added together would easily make me the richest man in the world.

"Kreature will take care of it immediately master!" Kreature said literally bouncing up and down with excitement at the prospect of the Black family becoming so rich. "Can master have the free elf give Kreature a hand so he can finish before the nasty goblins fix the wards?"

A sad look now marred my face as I thought about Dobby, my best and only real elf friend besides Kreature. "Dobby is dead Kreature. He died a hero saving me from Malfoy Manor, but I do have another idea! Winky!"

"You'se be calling Winky Mister Harry Potter Sir?" the little girl elf squeaked as she popped into existence.

"Hello Winky. Are you still looking for a family to work for or are you happy at Hogwarts?" I asked the little elf.

"Winky is all alone at Hogwarts without her Dobby. He would always take care of bad Winky." the little elf started crying, a common occurrence it seemed. "Winky would love to work for a family again like a good elf!"

"Would you like to join my family and work for me Winky?" I asked her.

Her eyes widened to almost comical proportions. "Winky would loves to be doing work for Master Harry Potter's family sir!"

"Perfect!" I told her. "Just tell me what I need to do."

Five minutes later, I had Winky bound as a family elf and had given her the same instructions to empty the selected vaults along with Kreature. I knew that I wouldn't get any sleep tonight as plan after plan began to whirl through my mind for the future.

**Hermione POV**

I slowly left the land of the sleeping with a large groan and a large stretch. I immediately knew something was up the moment I left my room. Scattered literally all throughout the house, in almost every room that I passed was mountains and mountains of gold, gems, books, and other items. Hoping that Harry would have the answers that I was about to demand, I made my way to the drawing room where I hoped he would be.

Harry was indeed in the drawing room, which was also filled to the ceiling with gold, at the desk in the corner with piles of books, papers, and other documents surrounding him. Deciding that re-closing the door was an impossible task I made her way over to him. As I got close to him I could tell by the ring around his eyes that he had probably been awake all night working on whatever it is he was working on. "Umm...Harry?" I asked timidly.

"G'mornin Hermione." he said tiredly but I could still make out the excitement in his voice.

"Why is the house completely filled with gold? Did you empty out your vaults?" I asked.

"And then some." he answered still reading over what looked like a travel magazine.

"What does that mean?" I asked calmly but with firmness that let Harry know it was a demand and not a question.

Instead of answering me he followed my question with one of his own. "How would you like to be legally be my sister Hermione?"

"Wait...what?" I asked now thoroughly confused. It was just too early in the morning to take all of what I had seen and heard so far this morning. "Harry James Potter! It is too early in the morning for this so you better start making sense and soon!"

Harry could tell I was starting to get flustered, he chuckled and decided to start from the beginning. "To start this gold is from the Potter and Black vaults, along with the vaults off all the now extinct pureblood/death eater families."

"Okay...but...why?" I asked.

"Now hear me out..." Harry started looking sheepish. "I was thinking about leaving the wizarding world for good...and I uh…I wanted you to go with me."

"You what?" I asked narrowing her eyes.

"Let me explain before you castrate me." Harry said hurriedly. "Think about it Hermione, what do we have left in this world anymore? There are still plenty of purebloods and just because the war is over doesn't mean that things will change, they didn't the last time the war ended. Here look at this."

Harry tossed over the latest Rita Skeeter masterpiece that had just came out this morning. "It seems I am once again the future dark lord. What do we owe this world Hermione? Everyone I care about is dead and the only reason I haven't left already is because I want you to come with me. You're the only one I have left in this world Hermione, if I had a sister I would hope she was exactly like you."

"Oh Harry!" I cried as I threw myself at my brother in all but blood. "You know I am with you no matter what. I always have been before haven't I? Just please tell me that you have a plan of some kind. I'm kind of hoping to not take the Gryffindor approach for once."

"Well..." Harry said scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "The goal is to live like a Gryffindor muggle; having fun, blowing pureblood money, and just living life for those who are no longer here to live it. However, I do have a rather Slytherin plan forming so that we don't have to worry about being bothered by the magical world any longer."

"So what is all of this?" I asked pointing to the mountains of paperwork he had scattered everywhere.

"Well...Kreature needed help getting the gold and Winky still wanted to serve a family, so I kinda let her work for us now." Harry said, hoping that I wouldn't make a big deal over it. "Kreature is out searching the seedier side of the muggle world to find someone who will make us a new identity. I figured Harry Potter should die along with the war, and I was thinking of becoming Harry James Black."

"Winky is buying all of the muggle money she can from every wizarding bank in the world except for the London branch of Gringotts of course. That will only probably take care of half of the gold we have now, which is a very considerable amount. She is also making an appointment with gold dealers around the world where we will sell off the rest of the gold for muggle money. It's ridiculous how much muggles will pay for an ounce of gold."

I gave him another huge hug. "I'm kind of shocked with you so far. You never were one for this kind of detail in your planning you know." I added the last part sternly.

Harry chuckled at me knowing I was correct. "Yes well there are a lot more plans for me to tell you about. I already have three major bank accounts set up under the name Harry Black and just need to get the new identity before I can take money from it, even though I can make deposits remotely. I have bank accounts set up in the Swiss bank, the Cayman Islands, and Bank of America in the states. If my math is right we should have about seventy-five billion US Dollars to our name when we have sold off all of the gold, not counting the foreign money, and I plan on splitting it three ways between the three banks. twenty-five billion in each of the first two and the rest in Bank of America."

"Since we managed to destroy the Horcrux in my scar I was finally able to truly learn Occlumency and with it I figure within the next three to four months the two of us can catch up to what the Americans would call 12th grade and we can finish our muggle education. We just need to pick a place to live and find a magical construction company near there to build our new house...we have just under four months for all of that though."

Harry was interrupted by Kreature popping back into the room. "Master I have located the one you asked for. I met with a squib named Max and he says that his boss Mr. J. Jenks can get what you need. He is located in Seattle, Washington in the states and you have an appointment with him next week master."

"Thank you Kreature, just leave the information on the desk and I will get to it as soon as I can." Harry told the old elf.

Turning back to me, he finished. "I am tired of the bigotry and fighting Hermione. I want to live. I want to drive the fastest car, build a big house and buy all of the things the Dursleys wouldn't let me have, date girls and find love, and most of all I want my bushy-haired sister there to do it with me. What do you say, will you do this with me?"

I knew that this is what Harry needed to get over the war and the loss of so many people he cared about. I too could stand to get away from it all, although I doubted I would enjoy the fast cars that Harry seemed interested in. "Oh Harry! Of course I will come with you. I've stuck with you this far and I may as well not stop now."

Harry let out a very childish whoop before nearly tackling me to the floor with a hug. "Thank you Hermione! You don't know how much it means to me to have you with me for all of this...now first things first. We are going to need a bunch more of your little beaded bags. We have literally tons of gold to sell and new identities to buy!"

I just shook my head with a small smile and got to work on the bags. I was at least happy I wouldn't have to be the one to come up with the entire plan this time.

**Harry POV**

A week later found me and Hermione sitting in the living room of our temporary apartment in Seattle, Washington. Of course the world no longer knew us by those names. Just today Mr. Jenks had come through with our new I.D. We had new passports, birth certificates, drivers license, and even fake school records from the years we had missed. Now we would be known to the world as Harry and Hermione Black, twin orphaned Billionaires.

While I found no reason to hide our wealth, Hermione did manage to convince me that it would raise too many questions if anybody found out exactly how rich we were. It would raise a ton of questions if it got out that two almost 18 year old teenagers were by far two of the richest people in the world. It had taken Hermione most of the week to traipse the world selling gold, but their final money count had left then with exactly twenty-five billion dollars in each of the Swiss and Caymen accounts and the rest, just over twenty-five and a half billion dollars, in the American bank, Bank of America. Losing half of the gold that I had liberated from Gringotts to the muggles, meant that there were roughly forty million less galleons in wizarding England. It was bound to hurt their economy when they finally found out.

"So Harry, when will the new house be completed?" Hermione asked as she finished reading an algebra book that we were studying. She had to admit that she was surprised by how quickly I was learning with the added help of Occlumency.

"We finished the design two days ago for the house, I've sent in the floor pattern you made for your floor, and I just found the perfect location and bought it today. It is located about an hour or so from Seattle close to a small town called Forks." I told her also putting down my book on math. "I decided to use strictly muggle means to have the house built or it would have been done within the week. However, it will still be finished within the next two months, leaving us about a month to settle in before school starts. It was a lot more expensive this route, but we leave no trace of us living here to the wizarding world. I think they have about three to four times the work force working on it night and day to finish it."

"Impressive." Hermione said nodding her head. She honestly thought it would have taken much longer to have a very large house built using muggle means, but figured that you could throw enough money at almost any problems to fix it. "So what do you have planned for today?"

"I have a meeting today to buy a new car, and I have another one that will be delivered to our new home when it is built!" I said bouncing up and down with energy.

"Sweet Merlin! What monstrosity are you going to buy Harry?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.

"Well...you know how much I love going fast, so it's one of the fastest I could find. There was one that was a tiny bit faster but it is the one I have to have shipped here. I am going to buy a Hennessey Venom GT!"

"Sounds expensive." she replied biting her lip.

"It is going to cost me just over one million American dollars but that is like pocket change to us!" I said hopping off the sofa to start getting ready for my meeting. "Speaking of which I have to apparate to Texas to buy it and I will be driving it back!"

Hermione just sighed and shook her head. "Just be careful Harry. I don't want you killing yourself in some car crash."

"Of course! I already have a list of spells and enchantments to put on it to make it safer in case I do wreck it." I said with a fake pout before disappearing with a quiet pop.

Hundreds of miles away, I popped into existence out front of a large building that had Hennessey displayed across the front of it. Walking to the door, I opened it and stepped up to the counter where I was greeted by a beefy man with a healthy tan. "How you doin this mornin? What can I do ya for today?"

"Yes, good morning. I'm Harry Black and I have an appointment to purchase one of your automobiles." I told the man returning his hand shake.

"Oh perfect, I'm Don Goldman by the way. Mr. Hennessey is waiting for you out back near your new car. I must say, we have had a few custom orders come through here, but yours sure is a gorgeous car Mr. Black." Don said leading me through the shop towards a large bay door through which I could just make out my new car. "I must say your definitely one of the younger men to purchase one of our cars."

"Yes, well my parents were killed when I was only a year old, and they left me quite a sizable amount of money that had been invested and has grew quite considerably over the years...now that I am of age, I plan to send that money back out into the world and enjoy spending it!" I told the man.

Finally, we reached the bay door where I was greeted and introduced to John Hennessey and the man gave me the walk through of my new car. "Well Harry, let me give you a quick overview of your new vehicle. As per your order, she is jet black with matching rims. She is equipped with custom emerald green front and rear lights as well as the green runner lights under the car. This car has the world record for being the fastest to go from 0 to 300 KPH in just over 13.6 seconds, and has reached speeds of over 265 MPH."

I did a couple of circuits around the car, and I had to admit I was highly impressed. The car was sleek and curvy in all the right spots and the colors would complement my hair and eyes perfectly, or at least it would when I finally made my appointment for LASIK surgery to get rid of those blasted glasses. The inside was of a matching black leather seats and upholstery and dark gray carpeting.

"It's a beautiful car and I can't wait to see what she can do on the road. I do believe I will enjoy the drive back to Seattle." I said already impatiently wanting to be done so I could drive it.

"Well, let's go finalize the paperwork and we can let you hit the road with it." John said leading me back to his office.

Half an hour and a bunch of forms later, I was finally hitting the road in my new car. The best part were the numerous low traffic roads going through Texas and I was able to really get the car up to speed. I was still new to the driving business and not quite the best with a stick shift, so I kept it under 120 mph the entire time until I could get more experience.


	5. James Black - Part 1

**AN: This is one of my older ideas and will have a second chapter to it, although it is only about half as long as this. I would have liked to write this one back in the day, but as usual, I have more ideas than i do time to write them.**

**Summary: Harry takes up the position as head of house Black, and finds a hidden room below the basement at Grimmauld Place. Hidden in the room is a device that feeds on time, allowing him to travel into the past. On his 16th birthday, Harry decides that he is going to go back and change the course of the war. Twenty years in the time room, and he steps out into 1976 ready to make a difference and save the lives of those he loves. The only problem? He didn't take into account that the house wasn't abandoned twenty years ago.**

**This will be a Powerful!Harry and pairings will be Harry/Bellatrix/Andromeda/Narcissa**

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><p>Harry stepped into the lobby at Gringotts and walked up to an available teller. "What do you want?" the goblin snapped, clearly not in a good mood.<p>

"I have an appointment with Jawcrusher in regards to the will reading of Sirius Black." A demure Harry said, paying no mind to the goblins attitude.

"Very well" the goblin replied. "Follow me." Harry followed the goblin to a door that lead down a long hallway that started to bank downwards. Five minutes and a few too many turns to keep count later, Harry was lead into an average sized conference room. He was the only other one in their other then a goblin whom he assumed was Jawcrusher. He knew that he would be the only one there as the letter he had received yesterday told him this was just a private reading, as he was the sole inheritor of the Black estate. A public reading would be held tomorrow afternoon.

Harry walked over to the desk that the goblin sat behind and introduced himself. "Harry Potter, are you Jawcrusher?"

"Indeed I am, Mr. Potter. My condolences for your loss." The goblin said shaking Harry's hand. "I am sure you have better things to do today, so let us get this started shall we?"

Harry just nodded his head in acceptance while Jawcrusher pulled out a small pensieve, and dumped a memory out of a vial into the bowl. He placed a long finger onto a rune that lined the rim of the bowl and a memory of Sirius appeared on top of the silvery liquid and the memory of his will started.

"_I, Sirius Orion Black, of sound mind and body do hereby claim this to be my last will and testament. To my godson Harry James Potter, I leave you everything including the head of house Black. If you're watching this Harry, then I must have gone to join your parents. I am truly sorry that we had so little time together, but the time we did have you came to mean more to me than life itself. I can only hope I went out fighting like a hero, although in bed with a woman would have been nice as well." Sirius said chuckling. _

_After a moment he continued on. "Harry, I am not sure how much Dumbledore has told you about your role in the war. I know that there was a prophecy that involved you or your parents and Voldemort, however I do not know the exact wording. I wish I were still there to help train you for the fight to come, but sadly I am not. However, there may be a way to give you the 'time' needed to prepare for the fight against him. It will take a lot of searching on your part, but while in my second prison at Grimmauld Place, I had little else to do but read from the family library. While we were cleaning out the dark books, or rather most of the library, I managed to stumble across an ancient diary from one of the first Blacks. In his diary he talks of a hidden room, guarded by a Parseltongue password, that has the ability to turn back time itself. _

_According to him, the room feeds on time to keep you in a sort of stasis period. The best I can describe it to you is that while the room is activated it reverses the flow of time. For every year you spend in there you go back in time one year. Of course this is just an easy explanation. Technically speaking, I believe the room 'eats' the time instead of reversing it. It consumes one years' worth of time to keep you in there for a year, effectively making is a year earlier when you exit then it was from the time you had entered it. _

_I don't believe there is a time limit you can stay in there, and to help your training I have managed to store all of the books we disposed of from the Black library inside of the Black family vault. I am also emancipating you in my will so you can claim your title of Lord Potter. You should also grab all of the books from that vault as well and take them with you. Both of our houses are very old and hold scores of ancient tomes, loaded with a ton of powerful and ancient magic. I also suggest you emptying your vaults of gold and taking it as well as once you have stayed inside the chamber longer then it has been since you have emptied your vaults, you have essentially doubled your gold._

_While inside the chamber the one who activated it will not age, however, anyone else that joins you in it will age normally, so it is improbable for another human to enter with you. However I suggest getting yourself a young snake to have some company while you are in there as it can get lonely by yourself. _

_I wish you the best of luck, and hopefully we will see each other one day in the past. Take care Harry, and know that I will always love you as my own, and I know you can defeat ole snakeface in the end._

By the end of the memory the tears that had begun to fall from his face were replaced with a fierce determined look. If what Sirius had told him was true, he wouldn't stop until he had found that room. He was a bit shocked to find out that the Black family had a room hidden with Parseltongue passwords, but once he realized that the Black family was one of the few that was even around in Slytherin's day, he figured that the dark families had at some point married into each other.

He knew that if he wanted to make the changes he wanted, he would have to go back many years. He thought about only going to before his parents were killed, but then thought about adding a few years and going back to before his grandparents were murdered in 1977. Of course he would have to take the customary and cliché shopping trip in Diagon Alley to prepare for what would be close to 20 years worth of solitude.

Harry finished the paperwork to claim lordship over the houses of Black and Potter, not even bothering to read his parents will since he was planning on them being alive by the time he was done. Afterwards, Harry had a goblin take him down to visit his vaults and after purchasing two bottomless bags, he had each filled with all of the gold and books from the Black and Potter vaults. According to his account manager, with the wealth from both families combined he was a very very rich man.

Stepping out into Diagon Alley, he decided to make his first stop for some companionship. He didn't want to take Hedwig as she would be dead by the time he made it to his desired point in time. Even though he would miss her greatly, he didn't think it would be fair to make her waste her last 15 or so years of her life stuck inside some room in a musty old house.

He opted for a trip to Knockturn Alley, as they would be the best place to find magical snakes. Diagon Alley tended to be very limited on animals deemed 'dark'. Stepping into the menagerie in Knockturn a few minutes later, he started to explore. He came across a sapphire blue snake in the very rear of the store. From the looks of it, it was a very young snake. ~_Hello young one, what is your name_?~ he asked the beautiful snake.

~_I do not have one as I was born inside of this store. I never had a chance to meet my mother. What is your name speaker?~ _the snaked asked him.

~_My name is Harry. If you are interested I am looking for a companion to take on a long journey. I can even give you a name if you would like?~_

The snake perked up knowing he might be able to finally leave his cage. ~_If you promise to not keep me in another cage, I would love to join you master!~ _the young snake said. ~_What name do you have in mind for me?~_

_~That depends.~ _Harry said_. ~Are you male or female young one?~_

_~I am a female.~ _she said

~_You are a very pretty snake, so I think you should have a pretty name. Seeing as you are a beautiful blue color of a sapphire, how does Saphira sound?~_

She took a moment to think. ~_Saphira will do just fine master.~ _She said.

~_Perfect. I promise you will not be caged with me. Before we leave here, can you tell me what type of snake you are Saphira?~_ he asked.

~_I am an Arctic Adler. We are a rare magical species that can grow to around fifteen feet long. We grow about one foot per year and have very long life spans. Our venom is also magical and it freezes the blood of our victims. We only need to feed about twice per week.~ _by the time Saphira had finished her tale, Harry had managed to pay for her, and order a humongous shipment of food that would last her roughly twenty years if put under stasis charms to keep them from spoiling.

After leaving the menagerie, Harry only had a few more things to do before he began his search. He wanted to get some new clothes, as even in the 70's his rags would still look horrible. An hour later he had ordered enough food to feed an army, all of which would be delivered in a few days and set him back another few thousand galleons. He also managed to get fitted for an entirely new wardrobe, along with a few high quality robes that would be fitting for the head of house Black.

The only thing left on his to do list was to obtain a new wand. He didn't plan on telling too many people that he was from the future if he could help it, and he was sure that Dumbledore would be able to spot his Holly wand easily. So twenty minutes later he had managed to find an old obscure wand shop in the back of Knockturn Alley. He couldn't use Ollivander's as only Aurors and Hit-Wizards were allowed to purchase a second wand without a permit.

With his hood pulled up and Saphira draped around his shoulders in plain sight, he walked up to the old wandcrafter. "How can I help you today mr….?" the old man asked.

"Lord Black actually." Harry responded with a fake deep voice, flashing his Black family ring. He didn't want anyone knowing that Harry Potter had been here. "I am in need of a wand, and I only want the best. Are you the man for the job or do I need to take my gold elsewhere?"

"My apologies Lord Black, I did not recognize you. Of course I can help you, as I only make the best. Just step into the back and we will get started." The old man turned the sign in the window to 'closed' and the two headed to where he kept his materials stored. "Each of our wands are made from one type of wood, some are of course more rare and powerful than others. Depending on the strength of the wizard, wands can be made with one or two wand cores, not counting the users blood to synch the wand to them only."

"Very well." Harry replied. "Where would you like me to begin?"

The old man led him over to a long row of shelves covered in many different types and pieces of wood. "Just run your hand along this shelf until you find your wood. Trust me you will know when you have found it. You will feel a similar connection to what you felt when you obtained your wand at 11 years old."

Harry hovered his hand over the shelf of wood at one end and started to slowly make his way to the other end. It seemed that the newer and less rare wood were all at the end he started and the older and more powerful wood was all at the far end. He was beginning to have feelings of Déjà vu` when he was nearing the end of the shelf. So far he hadn't found his wood and was hoping that he didn't have to settle for a wood that wasn't 100% compatible with him.

Finally, a few from the end he finally found his wood. It was solid black with silver veins running through it. He picked it up and handed it to the old man. "Ah, very powerful wood indeed. This is a rare piece of wood from a cursed Elder tree that was purified with silver." Leading him over to the shelves of cores he told him. "Now you must do the same to find your core. However, seeing as the possibility of two cores is always there, you must continue even if you have found a core until you reach the end."

Repeating the process, Harry made his way down the row trying to find his core or cores. Five minutes later he returned to the old man with two jars in his hand, one of a milky blue liquid and the other a heartstring of some creature that he couldn't identify. "Ah, you are going to have a very powerful wand indeed Milord. The heartstring is almost impossible to find; a heartstring from the last Hydra in existence. It was killed thousands of years ago by a powerful mage who the Muggles called Hercules. Hydra's have been extinct since that time. The second is Venom from a very rare snake indeed, an Arctic Adler. Of course you have one on your shoulder and if you wish to use venom from it instead, it would probably work even better."

Harry took the vial from the old wand crafter and turned to Saphira ~_Saphira dear, would you mind if I used some of your venom for the core of my wand? It would mean more to me then the venom from a random Arctic Adler that I have no connections too?~_

_~Of course master.~ _Saphira replied. ~_I would be honored to help you created the tool to destroy your enemies.~_ she added after he extracted a vial of her venom. Magical snakes, unlike the unmagical ones, could reproduce their venom and didn't have a set amount.

The old man took the venom and a vial of Harry's blood, and told Harry to have a seat and he would be done in the next hour or so. Harry took a seat in the corner and had a conversation with Saphira, trying to get to know his only companion for the next twenty-ish years a bit better.

Almost an hour and a half later, the old man came out from his workshop, looking very tired and also very excited. "Milord I must say, this wand is one of my finest creations, and I daresay it shall be a very powerful wand indeed."

He handed Harry the wand, and he could feel the power flowing off of it the moment it touched his hands. It was pure black with silver spidery veins flowing through it. It was roughly 13 inches and had runes carved into the handle. Unlike premade standard wands from Ollivander's, these wands were much more expensive and therefore carried with them runes to make them almost indestrucable as well as immune to summoning and disarming charms for everyone who was not keyed in by blood. The man had even taken it one step further and added a pain rune that would hurt anyone who was not of blood relation with the person who owned the wand.

He gave the wand a quick little flick and black and silver sparks shot out like firewords. He smiled as he asked the man how much he owed him for the wand. "The wood and Hydra heartstring are both very rare and valuable, but I will part with the wand for a thousand galleons." The old man said.

While a thousand galleons was a very steep price, the old man had a point. It wasn't every day that you came across the supplies that were used to make his wand, so he gladly handed over the gold and left the shop, headed for Grimmauld Place.

It took Harry days to find any clue about the hidden room at Grimmauld Place. It was the night before his 16th birthday when he finally managed to locate the entrance. It was a large stone door, in the basement, that had no handle or other markings on it other than a small engraving of a snake, making it almost impossible to differentiate it from the wall. He hissed "open" and watched as the large door sunk into the wall a few inches before sliding to the left and behind the wall beside it.

The only thing behind it was a ladder that led down into another room. Once he climbed down the ladder, he found another floor that was roughly the size of a football field, and had to be underneath both neighbors' houses. The room itself was one large room with no walls dividing the small kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, library, and training area from one another. The rooms were of average size, except for the moderate library and huge training area. There was plenty of space available to store the gargantuan amounts of food he would need to keep stored under stasis charms.

Next to the ladder in a small alcove in the wall was a pedestal with a large crystal sitting on it. There was a small scroll of instructions, telling him how to activate it and the effects it would do, sitting next to it. He spent the next few hours moving everything down there, from the large amounts of food, the books and his gold (still in the bottomless bag), all of his clothes, and anything else that he was going to want to take with him, such as his Marauder's Map, Firebolt, and Invisibility cloak.

He decided that he would get some sleep and start tomorrow on his birthday, so he and Saphira went up to Sirius's old room and he fell asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, Harry and Saphira woke bright and early to start their journey through time. They headed down to the kitchen where the entrance to the basement was and sat down to have a small breakfast before they began. ~_Looking forward to a long journey Saphira?~_ Harry asked.

~_Anything beats lounging around in that cage all day master.~ _She laughed. It turned out that Saphira had quite a sense of humor, and Harry was sure it would rub off on him over the next two decades.

~_Yes well, we will have roughly twenty years to train me to be better than Tom. I refuse to let everyone I care about die this time around. My aim is to go back before 1977, when my grandparents were killed by Death Eaters.~ _

_~I will be there to help you through it all master. We will make things better.~ _she said.

~_It will be an honor to have you at my side girl.~ _he said petting her on the head to let her know she meant a lot to him. ~_I guess the only thing that's left is to get it over with. I have a feeling that the next twenty years will be rather long and boring.~ _he finished with a laugh.

Harry picked Saphira up and draped her over his shoulders and they made their way down into the hidden room. They already had everything they figured they would need stored down here, and he sealed the door behind him. He had already read the instructions on how to activate the crystal so he set Saphira down on the nearest couch and began the process.

It took a couple of minutes to complete the start-up phase but it signified it had worked when a loud groan was heard and he could see a milky white barrier creeping out from the crystal to encompass the room. It took about a minute before the entire floor was surrounded by the barrier and he knew that this would be his home for a long time.

He took out the bottomless bag that held each of his books from his rather large book collection and began to sort and store them on the bookcases. It took him the better part of two days to sort through all of the books as the number was close to a thousand. He had books on dark arts, mind magics, transfiguration, battle transfiguration, wandless magic, charms, battle charms, potions and advanced potions, Auror books, battle magic, and even dozens of books with no title or that were just ancient lost knowledge.

He was almost glad that he would be here for so long, because he figured it would take him almost the full twenty years to read and learn all of the knowledge that was in each of these books. After sorting through all of the books and having them categorized, he decided to spend a day planning out all of his schedules. He would work on one type of magic at a time and finish with the ancient and lost magics. Of course he would make time each day to practice the spells and work on his dueling.

He made his first schedule and got to work.

6-7am - Workout and Exercise

7-7:30 - Shower

7:30-8 - Breakfast

8-11am – Occlumency and Legilimency

11-12pm – Lunch

12-5pm – Study magic

5-6am – Dinner

6-10pm – Practice dueling

10pm – Bed

The days would be long and there would be very little time to goof off. He knew he would need to master the mind arts of Occlumency and Legilimency if he wanted to have a chance at fighting Tom. He would need to keep him out of his mind or he wouldn't survive long even with the extra training. It is hard to fight when you are in immense pain or being fed visions that distract you from what you are doing.

He knew it wouldn't take twenty years at three hours a day to master them, so he would scale that number back to an hour after a few years and use the extra two hours to get additional dueling practice.

So that was the way his life when. By the end of the first year he made significant progress. His daily exercises, along with plenty of food, had started to get his body into great physical shape. He still had a long way to go to undo all of the malnutrition and abuse his body had taken from the Dursleys, but he still had 19 years to go to fix it.

Thanks to his Occlumency training, he was able to sort his mind and it helped him in reading and retaining the information by tenfold. He had made significant progress through the transfiguration books, and figured he would have them all mastered within the next two years.

By the end of the fifth year, Harry was already a very powerful wizard. His abilities in the mind arts were top notch. He had already mastered all of the transfiguration and charms books, normal level and advanced. The room came stock with ten training dummies that had been there when he found it, and he was able to fight four at a time on a fairly advanced setting. He wanted to be able to fight all ten on max setting by the time he left.

By the end of the tenth year, Harry's body was like it was sculpted by the gods themselves. He had added another thirty minutes to his workouts a few years back and his body was showing the work he had put into it. While he wasn't built like a body builder, his lithe frame was fixed with tight muscles that looked spring loaded ready to strike down an opponent. He had come across a couple of spells that fixed his eye sight, and learned why it was rarely used in the magical world. It was a two part process, one was a spell that was classified as a dark spell because it basically blinded your opponent. What it actually did was remove the optic nerves from the eyes.

Harry had found a potion in one of his books that wasn't too hard to brew that would restore the optic nerves to pristine condition. It took him almost a month before he was certain that he had the spell and the potion absolutely perfect as he didn't want to mess up and be permanently blind. By the time he was done, his vision was better than it had ever been in the past.

Harry wasn't the only one who had major changes. Saphira had grown to almost ten feet long during their stay in the time chamber, and she was covered in beautiful sapphire blue scales and sparkled if the light hit them a certain way. She wasn't overly thick, but she was by means skinny. She was still light enough that she could be draped across his shoulders, which had long since became her favorite place to be. Her and Harry had come very close since they were each others only company the last ten years.

By the end of the fifteenth year, Harry had already finished most of his books. The only thing he had left to learn from were the obscure and ancient tomes of lost and forgotten magic. His dueling skills had also picked up dramatically. He was able to fight 8 of the training dummys at just below max level. Saphira had also grown to what they both believed would be her final size. She was just short of fifteen feet long and about a foot in circumference. Luckily Harry had also grown in size a bit even thought his body had not aged. He stood just under six foot if he had to guess and his body was spring loaded with muscle, and was able to still carry Saphira around in her favorite spot.

He had also discovered the link between him and Tom through his scar. He knew it must be how he had sent Harry all of his visions but seeing as he was in a separate time stream then him, he knew he wouldn't be able to access it until he got out. He did however, pile on more protections and wards to block Tom from entering then Tom would ever be able to get through. He figured that only Dumbledore, Tom, and perhaps Snape at better Occlumency shields then him, and he planned on passing even them during his last five years in here.

Finally the day came when he was ready to leave out of the time stasis. He had long since lost count of the exact number of days he had been in here, but knew it was fairly close to the twenty year mark. His and Saphira's food was all but gone and they wouldn't be able to stay in here for any longer after today. He decided to go ahead and end the time stasis. With a flicker of white, the barrier started to tear itself down until a minute later, Harry and Saphira were somewhere in the time stream.

He had long since been able to fight all ten training dummies and just below the max level with ease, and he wanted to give it a go on max before he left. He wanted to make it challenging so he set them up in a circle and put himself in the middle, effectively surrounding himself. Saphira sat on the couch, lazily watching him.

He counted down from three and started his training. Not half a second after he hit 1, all ten dummies fired various high level and dark spells at him. He had long since gotten very good at wandless shielding. He couldn't cast the very high level spells without his wand, but there wasn't a shield he had read about that he couldn't do with his non-wand hand.

He flicked his wrist and he was surrounded by a clear bronze dome, at the same time he flicked his black elder wand in the direction of the target in front of him. Ten fiery spikes shot, wordlessly, from his wand and hurled towards one of the targets. The dummy set up a shield to block, but Harry's spell powered through it after the sixth arrow slammed into it. The other four arrows buried themselves into the dummies torso. He cast a magical sensory spell, to let him know what curses were coming towards him from behind after he had to dodge a killing curse that sailed just past his head. Apparently max level dummies used even unforgivables.

His shield went down right after he managed to fire off a purple flame cutter towards another target, and use used his off hand to bring up a reflector shield. This shield would send almost anything short of the unforgivable back towards where he directed it with the shield. A dark blasting curse came sailing towards him and he used his hand to smack it towards one of the dummies behind him, blasting its chest away. There were only seven dummies left standing….

While Harry was down in the time chamber in his most intense fight yet, the entire Black family, minus a few members, were upstairs having breakfast. It was unusual for everyone to be there, but as today was Arcturus' 74th birthday, they were going to be celebrating it today. Currently at the table were Arcturus and his cousins Pollux and Cassiopeia. Arcturus' son Orion and daughter Lucretia were also there as were Pollux's Daughter and wife of Orion Walburga and his son Cygnus. Orions son Regulus was there as were Cygnus's daughters Bellatrix, Andromeda, and Narcissa.

The family could feel the slight rumble of the fight going on two floors below them throughout the entire house. However, after a half hour search they couldn't locate the cause of it and decided to just resume breakfast.

Back downstairs, Harry had already taken down another two dummies, leaving only five left. He had two in front of him and one on each of his other sides. He slashed his wand in an upward diagonal and Fiendfyre burst from his wand in the form of a Hydra. He had long since learned to control the incredibly unstable spell and the Hydra rushed forward destroying the two dummies in front of him before the other three dosed it in torrents of water destroying it in a burst of steam.

Harry spun to face the dummies to his rear and with a swipe of his wand an arc of black lightning shot out of his wand at the dummy to his left, burning straight through its chest and torching its insides if it had any. Deciding to use transfiguration only on the last two dummies he brought up another clear bronze dome to block spells for a few seconds while he started to transfigure the rubble that littered the ground into animals. One dummy turned into a lion and was downed almost instantly to a cutting hex to its throat.

He transfigured a pack of wolves and two of them went down before they had taken even a step. While the other three charged the two remaining dummies. Harry transfigured three snakes from their other side. From behind him, he used a pile of dust to transfigure a horde of blood thirsty rats. The dummies managed to take out the wolves, while only one dummy losing an arm. They didn't see the snakes in time to avoid a bite each, and if they had been human they wouldn't have long to live if the snakes had been poisonous. A burst of fire scorched the snakes and the horde of rats started to cover the dummies, their little claws and teeth tearing into the fake flesh.

Harry summoned an emerald green fire whip at the end of his wand and slashed it towards the first dummy that was missing an arm. The whip slashed through the dummy's shoulder, decaying its flesh. He shot out a swarm of arrows from his hand wandlessly and the distracted dummy had them embedded into his chest moments later.

Deciding to take the last one without using magic, Harry stowed his wand and charged the dummy. He would dodge and roll out of the way to the spells he couldn't deflect with his wandless shields. After about twenty seconds, he managed to move into strike range of the dummy and knocked the wand out of its hand. He landed two swift jabs to its chest before he snapped its leg with a kick to the side of its knee. He spun the dummy around as it was falling to the ground and with both hands, snapped its neck. As soon as the last dummy hit the ground, the simulation was over and the piles of rubble and debris began to repair themselves back into training dummies.

~_Well Saphira,~ _Harry said walking over to where she was watching from the couch. ~_It seems as if I have gotten all the use out of these dummies that I can get. Now all that is left is for me to take care of Tom and his dummies.~_

_~Yes, you have grown strong since we began master. I have no doubt that your enemies will not stand a chance against you.~ _Saphira said.

~_Yes well, I think it is about time for us to head out of here for good girl.~ _Harry flicked his wand and the places started to clean itself up. The books he had sitting out returned to their proper shelves. All of his belongings that he planned to carry with him were placed in his trunk along with his bottomless money bag. The only thing he left out were his only set of formal dress robes that he had not worn out over the last twenty years. They were black Acromantula silk with silver trimming and had the Black family crest on them. One of his first stops in his new time would have to be for some new cloths as most were destroyed or worn out from his training over the years. There was only so many times you can transfigure rags.

Half an hour later, Harry was showered and dressed, with his shoulder length hair pulled back with a silk silver ribbon. He shrunk and pocketed his trunk and draped Saphira's massive frame around his body and over his shoulders and made his way out of the room. ~_I wonder what year we have stopped in master. I have long sense lost track of the time.~ _Saphira said.

~_Me as well girl.~ _Harry laughed. ~_If I had to guess I would say it was mid to late 70's. It had to be close to twenty years that we were in there.~_

_~So where are we going to live while we are here?~ _She asked as they entered the kitchen.

~_We will live here of course.~ _Harry said not bothering to look at his surroundings as he headed for the door that led from the kitchens to the rest of the house.

~_I do not think that they would approve master.~ _Saphira said jerking her head in the direction of the entire Black family that had been silently watching him in shock.

Harry froze with his hand reaching towards the door handle when she said that, and he slowly turned to see almost a dozen faces staring at him. Most of them had looks of shock and confusion on their faces, while a couple looked fearful or angry at his intrusion. ~_Shit.~ _he hissed ~_I totally forgot the house wasn't empty nearly twenty years ago.~_


	6. James Black - Part 2

**AN: here is part 2 of what i managed to finish of James Black.**

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><p>Saphira just laughed at him while he tried to think of something to say to the now growing restless group of Black family members still seated at the table. Before he could come up with something, the oldest man sitting at the head spot of the table spoke up. "I think I speak for us all when I ask just who the hell you are and what exactly you think you are doing in my basement?"<p>

Not knowing what to say exactly he decided to just wing it. "I'm Lord Black, and when I entered that basement it had still belonged to me."

"Perhaps you would care to explain that statement boy. I am Arcturus Black, Lord of House Black, and I have owned this house for over twenty years."He said getting a bit impatient.

Harry of course knew who Arcturus was. He had studied the tapestry many times in his stay in Grimmauld Place before Sirius had died. He knew that the Black's supported Voldemort and he had to be careful what he told them so it wouldn't get back to Tom. He glanced down at his head of house ring and an idea came to him. "Hmm…I think I have an idea. Now just bare with me for a moment." Harry said waiting for a moment to make sure nobody was going to interrupt. "I, Harry James Potter, declare this conversation to be a family matter and should not be repeated to any outside of those in this room, so mote it be!"

There was a brief flash of white light signifying that the oath had been accepted. Harry was still a bit surprised that magic still accepted him as the second Lord Black. Arcturus glanced between Harry and the ring on his finger, in slight confusion. "Care to explain how you have that ring, when it is clearly still on my hand?" he asked.

"Well seeing as this conversation is now bound as a family secret and you can't go running off to that snake faced bastard, I guess I could give you a little information." Harry started before he was interrupted.

"How dare you insult the dark lord!" shouted an irate Bellatrix. "He will have your head for this blood-traitor!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh at her. "It's funny you should say that, when it is you who worship at the feet of a half-blooded son of a muggle!"

"How dare you!" she shouted as she fired off a bone-breaking curse at Harry, who just swatted it away with the back of his hand as if it had been a fly.

"Now now Trixie, you will have to do better than that. Then again it is to be expected of someone who kisses the robes of a mudblood."

Bellatrix was about to argue with him again before Arcturus stopped her. "Be quite now!" he told the irate teen. Before turning to Harry. "You would do well to explain. We will not take kindly to lies about the dark lord."

"Very well. Old snakeface is actually the son of Merope Gaunt, a near squib decendant to Slytherin himself. She took a fancy to a rich muggle, here is the best part, she had to use a love potion on the poor guy and little Tom Jr. is actually a rape baby, can you believe it!" he said laughing. He looked around the table trying to find Orion and Cygnus before giving up and asking. "Which one of you are Orion and Cygnus?"

Two men in their mid forties spoke up. "We are, why do you want to know?"

"I believe it was '45, head boy by the name of Tom Riddle, that ring any bells?" he asked the two men.

They sat contemplating for a moment before Cygnus spoke up. "Now that I think about it, I do remember him somewhat. What of him?" he asked.

"Well don't you see? There's your little half-blood dark lord. Here I'll prove it too you." He said drawing out TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE in the air and with a flick of his wrist the words changed around to show I AM LORD VOLDEMORT. "Now the Black family is a Most Ancient house, so perhaps one of you can tell me if you have ever heard of the name Riddle in any of your little pureblood meet and greets?" he said smugly.

The table sat quietly for a moment thinking over what he said. Of course Bellatrix was still giving him the death glare. "Trixie, you should really stop scowling. It will ruin your face even more then Azkaban did."

"What the hell are you talking about Potter? I have never been in Azkaban." She yelled at him looking slightly confused. "And stop calling me that!"

"Oh yea!" he laughed. "I forgot that part of the story."

"And what story would that be?" Pollux asked.

Instead of answering his question Harry replied. "Did you guys know you essentially have a time machine in your basement?"

"Are you trying to tell us you are from the future?" Narcissa asked.

"Of course Cissy, by the way you in that marriage contract with ole Lucy yet? I swear I think that guy is a poofer." Harry said with a smirk.

"Lucy? Lucius Malfoy! You are going to marry me off to that idiot?" she yelled at her father.

Cygnus was however looking at Harry. "I have only just begun contract talks with Bellatrix, my oldest. I will not even entertain offers for the other two until they turn 16."

Harry asked him. "You sign the contract with that ogre Lestrange yet?"

"We are due to finalize and sign the contract next week." He stated.

"So you really are from the future huh?" Arcturus asked. "We keep family business, such as our negotiations for marriage private. So if you are from the future tell me, what happens to the Black Family in your time?"

Harry just stared at the man for a moment. "You really want to know? It isn't too great of a story for you lot." He said.

"Yes I am sure. I want to know if our decisions will bite us in the arse or not." Arcturus told him.

"Very well." Harry started. "I came here from '96 and by that time most of you had long since been dead. If I remember correctly Arcturus you died in '91, Pollux died in '90, Cassiopeia died in '92, Dorea and Charlus Potter, my grandparents by the way for those who are curious, died about six months from now. That will be corrected however. Lucretia you died in '92 as well, Walberga you died in '85; you do make quite an annoying painting however. Cygnus and Orion you both died in little over three years from now. Regulus betrayed Riddle and was killed along with the pair of you. Bellatrix was imprisoned in Azkaban for like 14 years after Tom bounced a killing curse off my forehead." Harry showed them the lighting shaped scar on his forehead before continuing. "Walburga blasted sweet and sexy Andy off the tapestry after she married a muggle straight out of Hogwarts, so I have never met her but I do know she had a smoking hot daughter a couple years older than me who was a metamorphmagus."

At this Andromeda went wide eyed and several people were giving her a glare. "Cissy however, was just as gorgeous then as she is right now." Harry said giving her a wink. "Hopefully this time around you don't acquire that look like you are smelling shit all of the time. Of course if I had to sleep with Lucy and help raise the blonde ponce Draco, I would have the same look." Narcissa blushed at him when he called her gorgeous but made no comment about her future 'family'.

"And by the time Sirius was killed a month before I came back, credit of that goes to you Trixie, me and dear Draco were the only eligible males to take over as Lord Black. The Black name was dead and gone, all thanks to some jumped up half-blood with daddy issues."

Arcturus spoke up after a few minutes of silence in which the family was considering all he had told them. "Would you be willing to swear an oath that what you have told us is the truth? We are Black's and we don't just take the word of someone, especially those from the 'future'." He chuckled.

Harry gave the oath and afterwards conjured a bouquet of flowers and gave them to Narcissa. "Satisfied?" he asked.

Arcturus just nodded his head before saying. "Pollux, Orion, and Cygnus. Join Harry here and myself in the sitting room." He said. As the three men got up he turned to the rest of the family. "The rest of you relax until we return, none of you are to leave or speak word of any of this to anyone outside of this room. Am I clear?" after he received nods from those still at the table.

~_Come on girl.~ _Harry said to Saphira as he followed the four men out of the kitchen and towards the sitting room.

"You know, the place looks much better than it did in my time. After you all died, this place sat empty since Sirius was in Azkaban, and that little shit Kreacher let the place fall apart." Harry said trying to lighten the mood.

"Yes, well perhaps things will turn out differently this time around." Arcturus said offhand as they all took seats and waited for him to continue. After calling for Kreacher to bring them all drinks, he started. "In light of new information, I think it is time for the Black family to head in a new direction." He said more to the other three then to Harry.

"What do you have in mind?" Pollux asked.

"Regardless of whether or not I agree with the man's beliefs I will not have my family taking orders from a half-blood. Do you agree?" he received three nods from the others while Harry just sat listening. He turned to Harry. "Now you said you came back to defeat him. How sure are you that you can even beat him? Besides the fact you appear to be 17 at most, he is still a very powerful wizard regardless of his blood status."

Harry sat contemplating his answer for a moment. "Well to be truthful. I may be 16 years old, but I have twenty years of extra knowledge and training during which my body did not age. As for my certainty, I am 99% sure I could have killed everyone at the table this morning had things taken a turn for the worst. Thankfully they did not."

"Yes thankful indeed." Muttered Pollux as he eyed Harry curiously.

"Yes well speaking of you." Said Arcturus. "What exactly are you going to be doing now that you are here? You certainly cannot go around with your current name. You do not exist here and people will most definitely ask questions."

"Very true." Said Harry. "Last thing I need is for that long-bearded bastard interfering with me in this time as well. He already made me live with abusive muggles for the first 16 years with my life, and I will be damned if he is going to control me this time around. I will need to visit the goblins and get a name change."

"Your head of house ring will be harder to cover up. We will figure something out for that. In the mean time, we have to pick you a new name." Cygnus spoke up.

"Yes, well I am thinking about James Black. Perhaps I could be the last living descendant of a bastard line from the mainland or something." Harry said.

"That story could work. If we cannot find something better it will have to do, but I will consult the tapestry and look for idea's." Said Arcturus. "Now," he continued turning more Orion and Cygnus. "I want you to send word to the Lestrange's and let them know that Bellatrix is no longer available. They will not be so easily swayed from their ways and we are going to cut all ties from the dark lord."

Cygnus spoke up. "It's going to be hard to find one pure-blood husband that does not have ties to him, let alone finding three."

Harry was still looking at Cygnus and therefore didn't notice Arcturus looking at him as he replied. "I have some ideas but we will have to wait until they prove themselves. Only those of power and talent will be accepted into the Black family. We do not need to end up like the Weasley's." he said the last part with distain.

"And what of the dark lord? Surely he will not take news of losing our support well, and Lestrange as well will be none too pleased when he hears the news of his son losing Bellatrix." Pollux asked.

It was Harry who answered him. "No need to worry about those two asshats, if anyone comes here to start trouble with the Black family, they will meet the business end of my boomstick!" Harry said pulling out his silver-veined black wand. "That is of course dependent on if I still have a room here or not?" He asked turning towards Arcturus.

"Very well." He replied. "You can have Sirius's old room. Last I heard he was now living with Dorea and the Potter's. Perhaps I will send word to the boy to meet with me about our new stance."

"Sounds perfect." Harry said. "Now if you four will excuse me, I would like to get myself settled in and leave you to your conversation." After receiving an affirmative from the others Harry left the sitting room with Saphira and made his way to his new room.

~_Asshats master?~ _Saphira asked laughing the moment he closed his bedroom door.

~_Hey I thought it was funny. Its your fault anyways.~ _he said.

~_And how is it my fault?~_

_~You rubbed off on me in the time machine thingy. You try only having a snake who thinks she is funny to talk to for twenty years straight. Hell I was even starting to think you were funny myself!~ _he said joking with Saphira.

~_Yes, well we both know that you will never hold a candle to me master. It's not my fault I was born amazing!~ _she said proudly.

~_More like born full of shit.~ _he mumbled.

~_What was that? I couldn't hear you over the sound of my awesomeness.~ _Saphira hissed back, but before Harry could answer there was a knock at his bedroom door.

"It's open." He said and in walked Narcissa. In his old timeline she was still over twice his age and still looked amazing. In the new timeline she was two years younger than him, but already looked gorgeous. She still had that long blonde hair with bright blue eyes. She was still small chested, perhaps only a b-cup approaching c, but overall she looked pretty amazing.

"Hello gorgeous." Harry said smiling as she closed the door. "What can I do you for…I mean do for you?" he joked.

She blushed heavily at his flirting. "Hi Harry. I wanted to ask if more about what my future was like." she said taking a seat next to him on the bed.

"Well, first I can't go by that name here in the past as I don't yet exist. So please call me James Black." he started, she gave him a nod and he continued. "As I said you were married to Lucius Malfoy. You had a son my age named Draco."

"What were they like?" she interrupted.

"Lucius had his nose up Riddle's ass all of the time. Of course, that was until a month before I left, him and 10 other death eaters tried to ambush me and a few friends at the ministry and they were captured. Bellatrix managed to escape that incident. Draco was nothing to be proud of. I think he was lucky that the Sorting Hat sorted him into Slytherin before the hat even had a chance to touch his head or he would have more then likely ended up in Gryffindor." Harry said snickering.

"Gryffindor?" she asked confused.

"Yes, poor Draco didn't have an ounce of Cunning in him. He acted more like Ron Weasley, only a bit more of a ponce. He is also a big reason why I was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. Had I not met Draco before I came to Hogwarts I would probably have been in green and silver." he told her. "As for you, as I said earlier time was good for you. You were still very attractive, although I never did see you smile the few times we met. If I had to guess I would say that overall you weren't very happy in your future. Of course if I was married to ole Lucy I wouldn't be very happy either. By the time he was arrested the Malfoy family had lost a lot of its political power and prestige."

Narcissa sat quietly for a few minutes taking in everything he had told her. Finally she spoke up. "Har...James." she corrected herself. "Can you promise me something?"

"Depends on what it is." he said looking her in her eyes.

"Promise me you won't let that be my future." she said slightly teary-eyed. "I don't want a future where I have a loveless marriage. I want to be able to laugh and love and not just be some trophy wife."

"Hey, what kinda guy you take me for." Harry said pulling the teary-eyed girl into his lap giving her a hug. "I'm James Black, slayer of fake dark lords and Basilisk's and defender of beautiful women!"

She giggled at his antics. "So tell me about yourself." she said.

"I tell you what." Harry said "I need to go to Diagon and get a new wardrobe. Why don't you come with me and I will tell you more about myself on the way."

"Ok, but will have to ask father first." she said smiling as she pulled him by the hand out the door and back downstairs.


	7. Old Version of The Soul Within - Part 1

**AN: I just wanted to give you guys a look at the Transformation The Soul Within went through before it was actually posted for you all to view. I originally had a much different view of what I wanted to do, but ultimately decided against it and scraped the whole thing and started over. **

**Summary: This version was going to be called Blood of the Founders, and was going to be a Harry/Multi fic. Harry was going to stumble upon secret rooms for each of the founders; i.e. the Room of Requirements for Ravenclaw and the Chamber of Secrets for Slytherin, and each would have held a vial of blood left by the founders to carry on their lines in the event it had died out. The stipulations would have been to marry someone from their house. It would have been Daphne Greengrass, Susan Bones, Lisa Turpin, and Katie Bell; along with Lexi (old name for Violet), but I decided to make a story that focused more on the actual soul inside of Harry and cut out the founders plot all together. This version of Harry was going to start out much stronger than my current one, and i decided to tone that down a great deal as well. This story will likely never be finished as I enjoy my new version so much more, but I decided to post it for those who may find it interesting.**

**There is a Prologue and 3 other parts that I had finished before I moved on.**

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><p>A man who called himself Voldemort stepped over the lifeless body of a beautiful young redhead and made his way over to the crib that held the figure who was prophesized to bring his downfall.<p>

The small baby, who couldn't had been more than a few months older than a year based on its size, was standing up inside of the crib holding onto the bars for support. The boy had jet black hair and bright piercing emerald green eyes that stared right back into the man's vivid crimson ones.

"You would have made a powerful wizard, I can feel the magic rolling off of you young one." The man said to the baby. He knew that the child couldn't understand him, having not quite reached the age where he would retain memories, even if he was probably very close. "Sadly, you cannot be allowed to reach your potential. After all, only I can live forever."

The man raised a pale white wand and pointed it at the baby's forehead. "Goodbye, Harry Potter. Avada Kedavra!" A brilliant green flash of light erupted from the tip of his wand and shot out towards the green-eyed baby in front of him. With a smirk, the man knew that once his spell hit, according to the prophecy, he would be truly immortal. No man would ever be able to defeat him.

However, the smirk was wiped off of his face when his spell rebounded off of the child and returned back towards him at nearly double the speed. Before the man could even process what was happening his battered soul was being ripped from his body. His body, which was more ritual and blood magic than human, disintegrated leaving nothing but ashes, his cloak, and wand behind.

His Horcruxes were the only thing that kept his soulbound-self anchored to this world as he fled from the half-destroyed house as fast as he could. He could feel each individual one as they fought to keep him anchored to this world. Unknown to both the now fleeing spirit and the crying baby, a piece of the man's heavily damaged soul had splintered off as it was being ripped from its body. With the soul-piece's owner fleeing from the scene, the soul fragment set its sights on the only other living person in the room.

The shard made its way forcefully through the baby's forehead, carving out a lightning bolt shaped scar as it burrowed its way into the baby's skin. It began to try and take over its new host. Unfortunately, for the second time tonight the small baby was underestimated.

The arcane, and also illegal, ritual that the boy's mother had done months before to ensure the survival of her beloved son was two-fold. She had known that the man would most likely try and kill her baby boy with the same killing curse that had just backfired only moments before. After all, it was the spell she had seen the monster cast to strike down many of her friends during the few times she had seen him in action. The spell was one that destroyed the soul that resided in the body and ultimately killing the host body without leaving behind a scratch.

This effect was different than the Dementor's kiss. The biggest difference being that a Dementor would suck out the host's soul, but not destroy it. This would allow the body to keep living, provided it was still being fed and watered. Of course eventually the body would die, but the soul would live on trapped and tortured by the Dementor, creating an eternal punishment to the victim.

The ritual that the boy's mother had used to save him was eerily similar to the ones that the now fleeing spirit had used to create his Horcruxes. In fact there was really only one difference between the two…the sacrifice. While the man's ritual was designed at cheating death, he had to steal life from another and offer an innocent life as payment. The mothers ritual was designed to protect life, she didn't have to steal the life of another but willingly give her own. The moment she had offered and he had taken her life in exchange for her sons, he had unknowingly activated the second phase of the ritual.

The moment the killing curse hit her and her soul was offered to death and destroyed, a blood protection was placed onto the baby that would always protect him from the one who had destroyed her soul. From then on it would recognize the magic of the caster and give absolute protection against it. There were only a few known ways to counteract the blood protection once completed.

As soon as the killing curse hit the baby the protection that was left in the boy's blood rebounded the curse back towards its caster, killing the man and saving the life of the child.

The moment that the small piece of the man's soul entered the baby's body and began to try and take over, the protection in the small boy's blood picked up on the threat and the two went to war. The magic of the man whose soul it belonged too was very strong, but the soul was also damaged. However, the protection in the baby wasn't strong enough to actually destroy the soul shard, but all was not lost. Knowing that it was fighting a losing battle, the blood protection made one last ditch effort to save its host from possession. Instead of trying to destroy the soul, the blood protection that was so full of love for the baby, decided to merge with the soul piece instead.

The soul shard tried to fight against it but it too was very weakened by this point and could not fight it off. The soul shard then tried to flee the infant, but the boy's protection latched onto it, not letting it go. The blood protection began to dig and worm its way into the heart of the soul shard; shredding, changing, and rebuilding it as it went. In the end the two had completely merged. The blood protection added to the damaged soul piece. While it would not be as healthy as a normal complete soul, it would at least not have the grotesque appearance that the original shard had.

The soul piece had changed and been rebuilt to increase its strengths and remove impurities, and would no longer belong to or be compatible as a Horcrux for its original owner. For the first time in history, a new soul had been created outside of natural child birth.

The love, left behind by his mother's blood protection, in the boy's blood had changed it during the creation of the new soul, took the best qualities of both the old soul shard and the blood protection of the boy's mother. This new soul still held the ruthlessness, power, and determination that its old owner used to have but it was now mixed with the mother's complete and undying love for the baby whose body it now shared. This new soul would always be there to love and care for the boy so long as it survived, and do whatever it took to see him be safe and become the best he could be.

The moment the new soul had been completed, the boy's body began to 'make room' for the additional life. The brain was a powerful tool, but one that is never used to its full potential. At any given time the human brain is only operating at one-third of its capabilities, as that is all that is needed to sustain itself and the daily functions of the human body. However, the brain, mixed with the child's magic, sensed the second mind occupying it and doubled the speed at which it was working in order to operate functionally. While the child would never have perfect memory or be able to complete any task without much thought, he would be advanced in comparison to the majority of people.

As the small boy was about to fall asleep from exhaustion, a rat faced man barged into the small nursery, not that the child would remember it. The man picked up an ash white stick from a pile of smoking robes on the floor before he fled the house.

As soon as the baby fell asleep, the new soul went into a slumber as well where it would go unnoticed when the boy would be checked by a medical healer in just a few short hours.


	8. Old Version of The Soul Within - Part 2

_Seven Years Later_

Eight year old Harry Potter sat on the roof of his three story tall school. His cousin and his gang had once again chased after him to try and beat him again. Luckily for Harry he had Alexandra, or Lexi as he liked to call her, always there to help him out.

Ever since he could remember Lexi had always been there for him, helping and loving him, whenever his so called family was not. In fact instead of showing him the love he should have received, his aunt, uncle, and cousin had shown him nothing but immense hate. It was rather frequent that they would punish him for things he couldn't control and they had repeatedly tried to "beat the freakishness" out of him.

Harry didn't know where he would be, or even if he would still be alive, if it hadn't been for Lexi. She was always trying to help him out. When he had burnt the breakfast at age five and his Uncle Vernon had broken his arm along with two ribs, it was Lexi who had helped guide his magic to help heal him properly that night as he fitfully slept on. When his Aunt Petunia cut his hair completely bald except for his bangs to hide that "hideous scar", it was Lexi that had helped his magic to make his hair to regrow overnight.

When his Uncle had taken to starving him for days on end in his tiny cupboard under the stairs, it was Lexi who had shown him how to unlock the door to sneak food from the kitchen at night. When his Aunt Petunia had tried to force him into the world's most hideous sweater, it was once again Lexi who had helped his magic shrink it down so small it would barely fit a doll; and now when once again Dudley and his gang had decided to play Harry Hunting, it was Lexi who had directed his magic to teach him how to teleport onto the roof of his school to escape from them.

Lexi was the only person in the world who Harry knew loved him, and in return she would always be loved by Harry. The thought of him ever losing her scared him, and he hoped that she would always be there for him. It was because of her that instead of being a scrawny boy suffering from malnutrition, he was relatively fit for his age. It was because of her that instead of having severely weakened bones from all of the times his uncle had broken them, she had made sure they had healed properly. She was even the one who told him that his freakishness was actually magic, and that he never was and never would be a freak. In short, Lexi was his life and he was hers.

'Thank you for showing me how to teleport Lexi.' Harry said to the girl that as far as he knew existed only in his head.

'The technical term is apparate, and you're welcome.' Lexi said from inside his mind. 'I will always try to help you when I can you know that.' Unfortunately she couldn't help as much as she wanted too. At first she had tried. When Harry had been four, she had helped Harry knock his uncle through a wall when he had tried to give him his first beating for "being a worthless freak". She didn't know but a couple spells, but her instincts helped her guide Harry's accidental magic to aide him. Together they had tried to run away afterwards, but the old man with the long white beard had tracked them down and taken them back to Number 4. He then had obliviated the incident from both her Harry's and his relatives minds, but he didn't make her forget. He couldn't make her forget.

Several times early on she had tried to help her Harry get away from the awful situation he was in, but every time the old man with the white beard had brought them back and made them all forget. Eventually she gave up trying to run away, as she didn't want Harry to forget everything that they had done to him. She wanted him to remember, so that one day they could make the Dursley's pay for treating him so poorly. No, she would have to help Harry in other ways that wouldn't attract the attention of the bearded man. So while she couldn't help stop his despicable uncle from beating her Harry, she would be there to make sure he recovered from it and that he always knew that she at least loved him.

'I know you will Lexi, and you know that I am glad that I have you. I just wish you had a body of your own so you could be here for me in real life instead of just my mind.' While Harry did love having Lexi with him, he had wish many times in his life that she was a real person. While he loved her no matter what, he would still have liked to have had her to hold him at night while he cried after receiving a beating or hold him as she sang him to sleep the first few months when he was still afraid of the dark.

'Magic is a wonderful thing, perhaps one day we will find a way. But if we don't I will still be just as happy as I am now.' She truly would still be happy if she was only able to stay as she was, but she knew that there were many different reasons that she would want or need a body in the future. For one she had limited ways to learn in her current form. She of course would learn everything that Harry learned, and she had also inherited the ability to perform legilimency from her "soul donor". It was one of a few different talents that he had. Of course Harry couldn't perform legilimency like she could, but they did find out once while working in the garden that they both understood and could talk to snakes. Of course she didn't know of her creation, only things that had taken place afterwards like the rat man and being brought to Number 4.

She had taken to scanning people's minds whenever her Harry had made eye contact with them. She in turn would teach anything of value to Harry. Of course she couldn't just download all of the knowledge or memories a person had. She could only look for specific stuff of dig through their most recent memories. She was lucky to know the few things she did know about the magical world. She had scanned Petunia's mind frequently and learned the limited amount that the woman knew. She also had gotten lucky when she scanned the mind of some random man, who was weirdly dressed and seemed to appear out of nowhere, who had walked up and excitedly shaken Harry's hand while walking down the street with his aunt one day. His last name was Diddle or Giggles or something along those lines. Of course she had been too busy learning about what she knew as apparition to really pay that much attention to his name.

Of course some of the other things she had learned from Petunia's mind was another big part of the reason she one day hoped to have a body. Petunia loved to read and watch anything that she deemed romantic, and while Harry was still too young for her to develop any romantic fantasies about, she knew that one day things would change. She knew one day she would find him attractive, and she hoped to have a body by then to engage in a few of them.

Harry and Lexi were shaken from their thoughts when the warning bell, letting them know that Harry was about to be late for class, rang. 'Time to go Harry.' Lexi said. 'Just remember how your magic felt when you apparated the first time and try to repeat it while thinking of your destination.'

Harry concentrated on the tingling feeling that coursed through his body when he had first apparated to the school roof. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the ground while willing himself to be back there again. He felt a familiar tingle and felt as if he was being squeezed through a tube before he opened his eyes and he was once again standing on the ground. With a huge smile he took off for class.

_Three Years Later_

Harry Potter lay on the floor of a rickety old hut that sat out to sea on a large rock. Over the last three years he had still been treated much the same he had for the first seven. Beatings would be regular, they would try to starve him (Although Lexi never did allow them to succeed), and he was still worked like a slave around the house. Harry hated his relatives and couldn't wait for the day to be rid of them. One day he knew he would be strong enough to make them pay for treating him the way they have. Of course he wished he knew why he was sent here in the first place, and hoped to one day find out who the old man with the white beard was. He too would pay.

Through it all Lexi had still been there for Harry, helping him much the same as she always had. As always Lexi had only one goal in her life so far, and that was to make sure that Harry became the best that he could be and to keep him safe. She was the one who used her Legilimency on Harry's teachers to make them think that he had given his report card to his relatives. For most people this wouldn't have been much of a problem, but for Harry having better grades then their precious Dudley must mean that he was cheating or using his freakishness to make Dudley look stupid.

Harry had long since stopped trying to gain the affections of his family. By now he knew it was no use, and to him having Lexi was enough anyhow. It was only thanks to Lexi that Harry even knew what love was, not that he would give it out easily. He had asked Lexi one day years ago why his aunt and uncle hated him so much and she told him that for Petunia, she was jealous of her sister for having magic when she did not. As for his Uncle Vernon, he just plain hated anything that wasn't normal, and hated Harry for being nothing more than magical. Dudley just went along with what his parents encouraged.

Lexi made sure that he always gave his best when in school. The first time he had tried to intentionally make bad grades to not anger his relatives, she had been the one to encourage him to do his best and made sure they never found out. As always, she wanted the very best for her Harry and she was going to make sure he had it. When Harry and she eventually headed off to join the magical world, she was going to do her best to help guide him down the best path to success. Her plans were made easier by the fact that Harry trusted her completely and he was as tired as she was of him being treated no more than a slave. Together they had plans to become the most powerful wizard ever politically, financially, and magically.

Magically. That is what has brought them to this little hut out on the sea. It had started a couple of weeks ago when Harry had received a letter that had to either come from the magical world or a stalker, as it had his address as the cupboard under the stairs. Of course Vernon had taken the letter faster than a starving man would a juicy steak. It didn't escape either of their notice that someone was aware that her Harry was sleeping in a damn cupboard, but chose to do nothing about it. It made her think about what else they knew of and did nothing about. It would all be in good time, but they would pay for their mistakes.

Harry looked down at the watch on his cousin's pudgy wrist. 'Ten more minutes and I will be 11, Lexi.' He said.

'I know I can't wait.' Said Lexi. 'And I will be the first one to wish you a happy birthday.'

'More like the only one to wish me happy birthday.' He chuckled.

'True,' she laughed. 'but this will be the last year for that. Once we get back to the magical world we will make sure we have others to wish you a happy birthday. I just wish I could get you a present for a change.' She said that last part wistfully.

'Just having you is the only present I will ever need, you know that.' Harry responded. 'They would have probably starved or beat me to death years ago if it hadn't been for you.'

'Maybe one day I will have my own body and I will give you the best birthday present I can find.' She said.

'You will have your own body one day, Lexi. If it is the last thing I do, I will make sure that it happens.' Harry told her confidently. 'Once I can start to learn magic, I won't stop until I find a way.'

'Thank you Harry. You don't know how much that means to me.' Even though she didn't have a body of her own, Harry could still imagine the smile on her face and tears of happiness that would be rolling down her cheeks. The two had become so close on an emotional level that even if she did have her own body, he bet he could still tell what she was thinking.

'Then after you have a body, we can finally make everyone sorry that they treated me like garbage.' Harry said with a hard look on his face. Harry would treat those who depended on him and deserved it with respect, but he had learned a long time ago that the world was unfair, and he had no problems about dealing with his enemies. 'I just wish I could have gotten ahold of one of those letters.'

No sooner had he said this then the watch on his cousins pudgy wrist started to beep, letting them know that it was indeed Harry's 11th birthday.

BOOM…BOOM…BOOM…

_The Next Day_

Harry sat on the underground on his way to London, thinking about all he had learned last night. The giant, who said his name was Hagrid was seemed nice enough, had told him how his parents weren't drunks who died in a car crash. Instead, they had been murdered by an evil wizard named Voldemort. Of course according to him and the headmaster Dumbledore, they seemed to think he wasn't dead. It turns out that Hogwarts was the one who had been trying to send him his letters. Of course he immediately agreed to go, and Hagrid sent his return letter by owl, which is just happened to be carrying in his coat pocket of all things.

As Harry had expected, thanks to Lexi, the Dursley's had known all alone of his heritage, and had just chosen to try and beat it out of him instead of informing him of his heritage. Harry had asked quite a few questions about Hogwarts and the magical world in general. From what he could tell, Hogwarts seemed to be over a thousand years old and was the perfect place to look for the knowledge he was seeking for Lexi. Any place of learning that old was bound to have a plethora of known and hidden knowledge, and he planned on finding it all.

Harry was shaken from his thoughts when Hagrid directed him through the entrance of a rather dingy looking pub, called The Leaky Cauldron. "Ah the usual I presume, Hagrid?" an old toothless man behind the bar asked as they approached the counter.

"No thanks Tom. On official Hogwarts business. Helping young Harry here buy his school supplies." Hagrid replied. The old man, Tom, looked up to the scar on Harry's forehead as soon as Hagrid had said his name.

"Bless my soul. It's Harry Potter!" he exclaimed. Unexpectedly, for Harry and Lexi anyhow, the entire pub started to mob their small group. Everyone seemingly wanting to touch him. It took them almost five minutes before Hagrid finally called them off and lead him out behind the bar through a small exit that led to a blank wall.

"See I told ya, yer famous." Hagrid said as he started to tap out a pattern on the bricks with his umbrella. No sooner than he finished did it start to move and collapse in upon itself, leaving a gaping archway where the solid wall had just stood. "Welcome Harry, to Diagon Alley!"

The alley itself was amazing in his opinion. There were shops everywhere, most selling things he couldn't even begin to understand. 'At least not yet.' Harry said to Lexi. There was a shop selling what was, according to a woman complaining about the price, unicorn horns. They passed a book shop, a place called Ollivander's that sold wands, a clothing shop called Madam Malkin's, an apothecary, and even a store that sold trunks. Harry wished he had a few more sets of eyes as he missed most of the shops.

Finally near the end of the alley, they could see a tall white marble building. "What's that building Hagrid?" Harry asked.

"Why 'at there's Gringotts, Harry. The wizarding bank, ain't no place safer, cept perhaps Hogwarts." The large man told him. Harry had already asked Hagrid last night how he was going to afford everything, as Vernon made it quite clear he wasn't going to be paying. According to Hagrid, he already had a vault here at the bank, left for him by his parents.

As they made their way to the front of the bank, Harry could see two short, green and frankly quite terrifying looking creatures. As if Hagrid heard the question forming in his head he answered with a whisper. "Goblins Harry. Very cleaver goblins, but not the most friendly 'o beasts. It'd be foolish to try an rob em."

Harry nodded to the two goblins who were obviously guards and made his way through the double doors. The entrance of the bank was made of pure white marble, the same as the outside. Harry could see another set of double doors that must lead to the main hall of the bank. On the doors was a plaque with a foreboding poem written on it to warn off thieves.

As soon as they passed through the second set of doors, Harry couldn't help but stare. There were hundreds of goblins working at an equal number of workstations. Some goblins had lines formed in front of them with customers waiting to be served, while even more were counting out piles of gold, silver, and bronze coins. There were also many goblins who were weighting piles of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds on old brass scales. There were probably a dozen doors spread throughout the hall, leading who knows where, each guarded by a pair of armed goblins.

Hagrid led him to an empty teller where a goblin sat waiting impatiently. "Yes?" the goblin asked.

"Mr. Harry Potter wishes to make a withdraw." Hagrid answered the goblin.

The goblin leaned over to look at Harry and seemed like he sneered, although it was hard to tell as all of the goblins seemed to have the same look on their faces. "And does Mr. Harry Potter have his key?" he asked.

"Oh, got it here somewhere!" Hagrid exclaimed as he started to dig through his pockets.

As he was pulling out the most random of objects, such as wet dog biscuits and some weird brass trumpet looking thing, Lexi spoke. 'Curious how someone else has had your key for the last ten years. Perhaps the goblins can give you information on how much money you have.' She said.

'My luck they have probably robbed me blind. Of course, had they given it to the Dursley's they would have just robbed me to my face, and then beat me for not having more.' Harry said in reply.

"Aha, heres tha little devil!" Hagrid exclaimed as he held up a small brass key and handed it to the goblin, while scooping up his belongs and pocketing them once more. "I also have a letter here from Professor Dumbledore. It's about you-know-what in vault you-know-which."

The goblin took the letter and read it over briefly. "Very well."

Before the goblin could speak again, Harry decided to ask him. "Excuse me sir, I was wondering if you could tell me how much exactly I have in your bank?"

The old goblin just huffed before digging through his files for a moment before pulling out a file. "You have 10,000 galleons, 1000 sickles, and 100 Knuts in your trust vault. In your family vaults you have 10,193,127 galleons, 23,546 sickles, and 9387 Knuts."

"Is that a lot?" Harry asked, not knowing the conversion rates of galleons to pounds.

"There is exactly one ounce of gold in a galleon and muggles are paying just over 800 pounds for an ounce of gold. Our prices fluctuate to match their numbers as we do not want anybody getting the idea of buying galleons for cheap and melting down the gold for higher profits in the muggle world."

'Wow.' Harry said to Lexi. 'That comes out to over 8 billions pounds!'

'It will definitely make things easier down the road.' She said. 'It will give you many advantages down the road. For one you won't have to work when you graduate school, and you can instead concentrate on gaining more knowledge and advancing your skills. Not to mention that money moves things in the world, and you probably have more than most.'

She was correct. Knowledge in the world rarely ever came cheap, and finding the knowledge to give Lexi a body was bound to be very rare. It would make things a ton easier to get it when price was of no issue. "Thank you for answering my questions sir. You have been a great help." Harry told the goblin.

The goblin just huffed and called for another goblin. "Griphook here will take you to your vaults, good day."

The ride down to the vaults was amazing, even though Hagrid didn't agree. After a five minute ride on an underground cart they ended up at vault 713. Hagrid took out a small grubby looking package and pocketed it. Lexi tried to use legilimency on him when he asked him what it was but unfortunately Hagrid wasn't making eye contact and they couldn't get any useful information from him.

They hopped back into the cart and after a much shorter ride they ended up at his trust vault. Harry didn't know what ten million galleons looked like, but judging from how large the pile of ten thousand was, he assumed it was very very large. He had never imagined that he would have that much gold to call his own, and he immediately filled up the moderate sized pouch the goblins had given him. he was only able to fit one hundred galleons in it, but considering that was over eighty thousand pounds, he assumed it would be more than enough to buy everything he needed and then some. He knew one thing though, and that was that it was high time he got himself some clothes that actually fit, and a way to protect them from his relatives. He knew that the first thing Dudley would do would be to complain about him having nice things, and Vernon would most likely try and take it from him, so he would just have to lock them in a trunk and hide them until he left for Hogwarts.

Hagrid was looking a bit green and half sick by the time they made their way back outside to the front of the bank. "Hey Hagrid, why don't you go grab yourself a drink at the pub. You don't look so well." He told the friendly giant, trying to get some time to shop by himself.

"Don't reckon I should leave you by yerself Harry." Hagrid said looking unsure.

"It's not a very big alley, I am sure that I will be fine until you're done. No sense not feeling well over me."

"Are ya sure yer goin ter be alrigh' Harry?" Hagrid asked him.

"Positive. I am sure I will probably be in the book store by the time you're done." Harry really didn't want to be supervised. He was used to it just being him and Lexi anyhow.

"Alrigh', but if you need anythin I'll be at tha Leaky." Hagrid said before hurrying off towards the dingy pub.

'Now that we are free to roam, where should we go first?' Harry asked Lexi.

'Hmm…we should probably get you a trunk first before we start loading ourselves up with baggage.' She said after a few seconds thought. 'Then we can knock the rest out, finishing up with your wand and then the bookstore. We have a lot of reading to do to get you ready for the wizarding world.'

He made his first stop at the same trunk store that Harry remembered passing on his way in, where he bought him a basic looking trunk that actually had a second hidden compartment with a password locking device on it. He paid a bit extra to add a few extra charms to the trunk to make it feather-lite and shrinkable.

From there he made his rounds at the stores that wouldn't take as long, getting his potions supplies, scales, vials, and a cauldron. He also purchased his telescope before making his way to the clothing store. He walked in and the middle aged woman ushered him towards the back and onto a stool next to a blonde haired boy. "Hogwarts too I suppose?" the boy asked with a bit of haughtiness.

The boy was well dressed and seemed to carry himself as if he might be important, so Harry asked Lexi the best way to approach the boy since he had not yet gotten around to reading any book on wizarding world customs. Lexi had already told him the importance of not stepping on too many toes accidentally as he had no idea just whose toes were whose. 'Just be confident, and don't show him any weakness. However, you don't want to insult him either.' She told him.

"Yes, I'm quite looking forward to it myself." Harry said, figuring it was an inconsequential enough answer.

"I'm a pureblood myself. Father doesn't believe they should let the other kind in. You're not one of them are you?" the boy asked.

Not really knowing what the other kind was exactly, he did understand what the boy meant by pureblood. "Both of my parent were magical if that's what you're asking." Harry answered.

The boy kept going as if he wasn't even listening. "So do you know what house you're going to be in?"

"No not really." Harry answered noncommittally. He had gathered only a small bit of knowledge from Hagrid the night before on the housing system. From what he could gather it seemed as if the dark and evil went into Slytherin and the brave and noble went into Gryffindor. Personally he just believed that Hagrid was a bit biased, but in either case, he planned on joining the most neutral house. Joining either Slytherin or Gryffindor would alienate the other house, so he would probably join either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, depending on which one got along the best with both sides.

"No I guess none of us really do until we get there." The boy said almost as if just talking to hear himself speak. "I'm going to be in Slytherin however, my family has been in it for centuries."

'If he seems that confident then there must be a way to influence how you are sorted.' Lexi said to him. 'Should make our job of getting into the neutral house easier.'

"That's you all done up dear." The matron of the store said to the blonde, thankfully shutting him up. Harry returned his farewell, but only half-heartedly.

Harry ended up spending almost a half hour there getting his school and personal robes fitted and chosen. Apparently everyone's school robes had to be made of standard cloth, but he did end up getting his everyday robes done, in black with silver and black with dark green trim, made from Acromantula Silk. Even so, for everything it only set him back twenty galleons. He would end up going to a muggle store to get himself a normal outfit. Thankfully he had remembered to exchange ten galleons for pounds before leaving Gringotts. He didn't want to risk carrying any more than 8,000 pounds in case his relatives found out and decided to try and relieve him of it.

Leaving the robe shop, he made his way to Ollivander's. Other than the bookstore, this was the place he was most looking forward too. Stepping in the shop was kind of small. Just a narrow room lined with long shelves that housed hundreds if not thousands of long thing boxes. However, what he didn't see was a shopkeeper. "Hello?" he called out.

Seconds later, an old man with wispy silver hair slid towards him on a rolling ladder. "I wondered when I would be seeing you Mr. Potter." He said silkily as he started searching the shelves, pulling off different boxes. "It seems only yesterday that your mother and father were in here buying their first wands. Ah, here we go."

He handed Harry a wand from one of the many boxes that now sat on the counter beside him. "Well go on, give it a wave." He said.

Harry waved the wand only to have a glass lantern explode on the far wall. "Apparently not." Was all the response it gathered before the wand was replaced by another wand.

Harry gave the new wand a try. This time a dozen or so boxes were flung from the shelf in front of him, slamming into the wall beside it. "No..No..definitely not!"

That was the routine for the next twenty minutes. Mr. Ollivander would hand him a different want, occasionally giving a description of what it was made from, and Harry would destroy something in the shop. Finally with a muttered, "I wonder" from Ollivander, he handed Harry a wand that he said was made of holly and phoenix feather. While it felt better than the rest he had tried and it didn't make anything explode, Ollivander still snatched it too back with a disappointed look on his face.

"No worries Mr. Potter." Ollivander said looking a bit crestfallen and happy at the same time. "It's not every day I get to craft myself a wand for a customer from scratch. If you just want to follow me to the back."

In the back was a workshop of sorts. There was a workbench against the back wall, and on each side of the narrow room was a long shelf. One shelf held a plethora of woods and the other boxes and jars filled with what Harry could only guess was core types. "Mr. Potter, if you just walk down each row, while holding your half above the materials, you will feel a pull towards the ones that are best suited to you."

Harry did as instructed, starting out with the wood. He made it about three-quarters of the way down the row before his hand hovered over one that almost made his hand feel like it was burning with magical energy. Moving over to the ingredients he repeated the process. He was just about to turn back to Ollivander after selecting a small box from the ingredients shelf, when he sensed a second core coming from a jar will with a black mist. Grabbing it too he took them all to Ollivander and waited while he got to work.

It surprisingly only took a half an hour to make his wand, but Mr. Ollivander was still looking tired when he had finished. Turning to Harry he handed him his wand. "Blackthorn, 12 inches." He said. "with the hair of a Demiguise and essense of a Lethifold. This is a powerful wand Mr. Potter, not as powerful as the Death Stick of course, but you should be careful non-the-less."

"Thank you sir. I will be extremely careful." Harry ended up paying 10 galleons for the wand, it was more than the usual seven thanks to the second core, and exited the shop to see Hagrid waiting for him. In his hands was a large cage with a sleeping, and beautiful, snowy-white owl.

"Happy birthday Harry!" he exclaimed loudly. Harry had to admit it was pretty thoughtful of the big guy, and Harry made a mental note of visiting the gamekeeper once in a while when he made it to Hogwarts.

"Thank you Hagrid." Harry told him with a true smile on his face. "She is beautiful."

The only thing left on his schedule in the magical alley was to visit the bookstore. It was here he planned on putting his new trunk to very good use. He made his way inside of Flourish and Blotts and immediately began browsing the shelves, with input from Lexi along the way.

He ended up spending almost an hour in the shop, but by the time he was done he had himself quite a collection growing. "Goin ter end up in Ravenclaw with all them book yer got there Harry." Hagrid joked with him.

Indeed it was quite a lot of books. Along with his standard first year books, he had also bought a ton of books on wizarding genealogy, politics, law, and books on recent history. He wanted to know the ins and outs of the world as quick as possible along with the whose who of the world. He wanted to get some of the more expensive books on rituals and runes, figuring that would be the best place to start on his quest to help Lexi, but Hagrid was keeping too close of an eye and he wasn't sure if they were allowed or even to who all he reported Harry's comings and goings too. As it was he still did end up buying books that were advanced for his year, bordering on second year material. He figured that some of the things might not be taught due to time constraints and he wanted to make sure he knew more than everybody else.

Even with the large collection he still only managed to rack up an 8 galleons charge before he left. After a nice very late lunch with Hagrid, he was being seen off at the train station back to surrey. He managed to convince Hagrid that he would be fine to make his way home from there. Of course he had no plans to head home just yet. He was just waiting to find a secluded spot so he could apparate to the expensive clothing store he had seen his aunt pining over a few months back. Apparating, along with unlocking doors, was the only bit of actual magic he had learned how to control. Thankfully that in and of itself was enough to get more done then without any magic at all.

After making his way to the loo in the train station he too the familiar trip through the rubber tube and appeared in the alley next to the clothing store. Inside he managed to get some help from an attractive girl who worked at the store to select a new wardrobe. Almost two hours later he had a complete new wardrobe, and even managed to stop at the eye doctors that was located inside of the mall as well. While his new glasses weren't anything spectacular, they were at least stylish and were actually his prescription for a change. He would try to find a way to magically fix his eyes in the future. While he didn't plan on being in any fights in the future, he knew that they could be a hindrance in any case.

He apparated, five thousand pounds lighter, back to Number 4, where he knew that he had a long month of studying ahead of him. Hagrid had told him that he was not allowed to use magic outside of school, but thankfully he had not decided to let the Dursley's in on the secret. He knew one thing however, and that was that the future was definitely going to be better than the past had been.

AN: Obviously Harrys wand would have to be different then the Holly and Phoenix feather wand as he no longer has Voldemorts, but Alexia's soul in him. However, even though the soul is no longer his, she was still passed along the abilities that came with it, mainly the limited ability of legilimency and Occlumency, even though they do not know about Occlumency yet. In the story, the Horcruxes were able to read peoples thoughts, as proven when the locket told Ron that he had "seen your mind", but yet Harry could not. So Harry did not receive that particular gift, however, just like in the books, they both did receive the gift of parseltongue, for as long as her soul is inside of him at any rate. If there are any questions you guys have that I haven't answered, then please feel free to ask away.


	9. Old Version of The Soul Within - Part 3

The next month passed by in a blur of reading and studying. Thanks to the threat of magic, the Dursley's were for once too scared to do anything to Harry. Of course the only times they even saw him was during meals. Over the past month he had read and re-read all of his texts for the coming year, along with all of the books he bought to get better acquainted with the wizarding world. He had yet to start on any of the slightly more advanced books, but he would have time during the coming year. Of course, he didn't want to get to far ahead on the theory without making sure he could do the practical anyhow.

After a subdued ride to Kings Cross Station, where his uncle promptly drove off laughing at the thought of the non-existing platform 9¾. Of course Harry had had the same thought when he first looked over the train ticket Hagrid had given him, and it was the first question he asked the large man. Harry made his way over to the barrier that held the gateway to his platform and made his way through just as a large family of red-heads were making their way to the platform. He assumed they were headed for Hogwarts as the mother was shouting out in plain sight about muggles. Apparently magicals don't take great care hiding themselves from the muggle world. 'Of course, when you can just take away their memories why should you worry?' Harry told Lexi.

'Yes, definitely one of the skills we are going to have to learn in the future.' She told him.

Harry was hit with a sense of excitement when he first saw the Hogwarts Express waiting on the platform, smoke billowing out of its large black stack. All around the platform were families saying goodbye to each other, some laughing and some crying. Harry couldn't help but feel the pang of jealousy that his parents had been stolen from him. At least the boy crying about losing his toad had his grandmother there to see him off. The Dursley's would be more inclined to see him under the train then on it.

'I guess we should find a seat.' Harry said slightly sullenly to Lexi.

'Cheer up Harry, at least you still have me.' Lexi said trying to cheer him up.

'Yeah, well you better not make any plans on leaving me anytime soon.' He said cheekily.

'Of course not. You're stuck with me forever. With me in your head it's not like I can go anywhere anyhow.' She laughed.

'You got that right, and you better plan on sticking around if you ever expect me to get you a body.'

'Yeah, yeah. Just go find us a seat you git.' She said playfully, both of them knowing that they would stick be each other until the end. They had long since made it a running joke about the fact that she was stuck inside of him for now and couldn't leave him even if she wanted too.

As Harry made his way through the platform towards the train, he noticed he was attracting a few stares from the few people who had already noticed his scar. He did his best to cover it up. At least he was wearing his new clothes and not the old and worn out hand-me-downs from Dudley. His uncle had nearly pitched a fit when he walked downstairs this morning. Of course Harry didn't care, he wouldn't have to see the whale of a man for the next 10 months anyhow. He would have to make it a point to learn some type of enchanting since he couldn't use magic at the Dursley's. He would hopefully be able to enchant some things to help protect him in the future in case they ever did find out he wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school.

Harry made his way through the train, looking for an open compartment. Not finding one, and cursing himself for not leaving the house sooner, he found a compartment near the back that had just one girl with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail. "I'm sorry, but everywhere seems to be occupied. Do you mind if I join you?" he asked the girl.

"Sure, no problem." The brown haired girl replied. "My name is Lisa by the way. Lisa Turpin."

"Thanks. I'm Harry Potter." He said waiting for her eyes to scoot up to his forehead like the majority of the people he had met, but it never came. 'Must be a muggleborn.' Harry said to Lexi.

"Nice to meet you Harry. So are you starting your first year as well?" she asked.

"Yes, any idea what house you want to be in?" he asked her.

"Hmm…well I've only read a bit about them of course, but I don't suppose Ravenclaw sounds too bad. How about you?" she asked.

"I don't think Ravenclaw would be a bad option either. Of course Hufflepuff would be fine with me as well. There is too much animosity between Gryffindor and Slytherin so I am hoping to avoid both."

"I know what you mean. I'm already far behind some of our peers just by me being muggleborn. I don't have time to waste fighting a meaningless feud." She said confirming his thoughts about being muggleborn. "Were you raised in the magical world?"

"Both of my parents were magical, but I have been raised in the muggle world by my mother's sister and her husband. Both of my parents were killed when I was a baby." He said ruefully.

"I haven't read a ton on it mind you, but I heard that a lot of families were torn apart due to the war. People must hound you all the time for it I guess?" she asked.

"Ahh, so you do know who I am." He said with a chuckle. "I thank you for not staring at a silly scar like everybody else."

"I'm as glad as anybody else that the war is over, but I don't imagine it would be pleasant to have someone staring at a reminder of what you lost. Sometimes people forget I guess that while you stopped an evil wizard, it still cost you your parents." She said with a slightly sad tone in her voice.

"You are wise for your years." Harry told her with a smile. "I think you have a great chance at Ravenclaw."

She smiled and blushed for a second before answering. "My parents both work a lot and I spend most of my time by myself. So I turned to books growing up." She said wistfully.

Harry also lost his smile thinking about his life growing up at the Dursley's. "Yeah, my relatives aren't exactly friendly towards magic, so you can guess how pleasant they were growing up. Reading and learning all I could was all I had to keep me going. Now that I have magic though, I plan on putting them behind me and making my own path in life."

"Well, at least if we are both in Ravenclaw, I will at least have a study partner." She smiled again.

"Absolutely!" Harry said returning her smile.

After that the pair decided to get some reading in before getting to Hogwarts. Afterall, they would need the extra reading to gain ground on their classmates who already had an 11 year head start in the magical world. The rest of their trip went almost uninterrupted, with only a bushy brown-haired girl stopping by asking about a missing toad. She seemed smart enough and eager to learn, but Harry could already tell she had a very bossy personality and was strongly led by rules. Definitely not someone he needed to spend his time around getting lectured on, as he had many goals, and he doubted most of them followed by the rules. All he could do is hope that she wasn't put in Ravenclaw, but it seemed unlikely.

A few minutes before the train was due to arrive, they each took turns getting into their robes. Harry made sure to turn towards the window while she changed, and she did the same. When the train stopped the pair made their way towards the exit where Harry could hear Hagrid calling over the crowd. "Firs' Years! Firs' years, O'er this way please!"

Making his way over to his first friend in the magical world, he greeted the friendly half-giant. "Hello Hagrid. Have you been doing well?" he asked.

"Hello Harry, been doin fine meself. Been takin care o' yerself?" Hagrid asked.

"It has been a good month. Glad to finally be here though." He said truthfully. The last month had probably been the best of his life. Well best that he could remember anyhow.

"'At's good ter hear. Well must be gettin underway. Alrigh' firs' years, this way to tha boats!"

The path down to the lake was dark and slippery. That meant that he got to be used as a crutch by Lisa to keep from slipping, which she almost did several times, threatening to take Harry with her. Of course Lexi found it extremely hilarious. Finally they made their way down to the boats where Harry and Lisa were joined by a very cute girl with black hair who had a blank expression on her face, and a brown haired girl who had the exact opposite facial expression and was very bubbly.

Harry helped Lisa into the boat before taking a seat himself. Once the boats had taken off, Harry decided to be polite and introduce himself. Turning to the stony-faced girl first he held out his hand. "Hello, my name is Harry Potter."

The girl's eyes widened, but only for a split second before she got her emotions under control. It looked as if she didn't want to shake his hand at first, but at the last second she held hers out. "Daphne Greengrass."

He had read that the Greengrass family was pretty well off, and also pureblood. Not forgetting the proper customs that Lexi had drilled into his head from his reading, he took her hand and gave it a swift kiss on her knuckles. "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Greengrass."

She just nodded her head before Harry turned to the other girl. "And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" he asked the bubbly brunette who started to giggle.

"Tracey, Tracey Davis." She said also holding out her hand.

Harry took it and kissed it the same as he had before. "This is Lisa Turpin, a friend of mine. I must say it is an honor to be in the presence of such beauty." He said smiling, making sure to look at all three girls so nobody felt left out.

'Really laying it on thick aren't ya Harry?' Lexi gave him a mental giggle, while Lisa blushed and Tracey giggled. Daphne of course did her best to keep her face neutral.

Before Harry or the girls could respond, they turned around the bend and their first sight of the castle came into view. Harry couldn't help the whispered "wow" that escaped his lips as he first saw it. As if reading each others minds, Harry and Lexi's first thoughts were both 'I bet there are tons of hidden knowledge and secrets in a place that big.' They each let out a chuckle when they said the same thing to each other. Of course Harry's was the only one that was heard by the other three, not that they paid much attention to it, being engrossed in the sight the same as he was.

"Watch yer heads now." Came the voice of Hagrid over the sea of boats as he disappeared beneath a low curtain of ivy that lead under a small cliff. Harry figured the warning was more for Hagrid himself than anybody else, seeing as he was at least twice as tall as everybody else, even while sitting down.

Once they passed through the ivy curtain, they made shore in a small underground ante-chamber. Harry stepped out of the boat first and helped each of the girls out as well. Surprisingly he received no resistance from any of the girls, even Daphne. Apparently they either respected or expected his chivalrous act. In the case of Daphne he half expected it was the latter.

Waiting for the students was a rather tall elder woman with graying black hair and a few wrinkles on her face. She had dark green robes on and a stern look on her face that screamed "do not cross me". "Firs' years for ye professor McGonagall." Hagrid told the stern witch.

She gave him a quick nod before turning to address the students. "Good evening." She started in a Scottish brogue. "In just a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates, but before you do you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

She gave a brief pause to look around to make sure she had everyone's attention. "While you are here, your house will be like your family. Any triumphs will earn you points, while any rule breaking and you will lose points." She said the last point looking towards a red-headed boy that seemed to be snickering with a sandy-brown haired boy. "I will be back for you all in just a moment, I suggest you all take this time to…smarten yourselves up." Once again she looked towards the red-head who had a smudge of dirt on his nose and a dark haired boy whose cloak was fastened under his ear.

"It's true then, what they were saying on the train? Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." The same rude blonde from Madam Malkins he had met on his birthday. Harry had spent a great deal of time reading over the current wizarding genealogy, learning the prominent families and the not so prominent. The Malfoy family was, like the Potter's, a very old and influential family. They were also supporters of the same dark lord who took his parents from him.

Oh of course, the records may say that they were forced into it, but Harry and Lexi knew better. Harry could just tell from the boys attitude the first time he had met him that it wouldn't have taken much to recruit his father if he was anything like his son. While there were many gray or even slightly dark families who didn't support the dark lord, the ones who did obviously wouldn't be on Harry's recruitment list for support later on in life. That being said, Harry had no problems making a fool of the blonde brat.

"Yes, indeed I have." Harry said nonchalantly, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

"I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." he said pompously. "You will soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others Potter. You don't want to go around making friends with the wrong sort." He was said the last part while looking at Lisa and holding out his hand as if expecting it to be shaken by Harry.

Wanting to call him out on it Harry said, "And just what exactly is your idea of the 'wrong sort', Mr. Malfoy?"

"Blood-traitors," he looked towards the red-headed boy with dirt on his nose that had snickered when he said his name. "and Mudblood's of course." he said the last looking at Lisa.

Harry bristled in anger for a moment before Lexi told him to calm down and use his head before answering. "It appears, Mr. Malfoy," he said his name with a bit of heat in his voice. "that you aren't the intelligent type. First you blatantly insult a friend of mine to my face, but you do not even have the brains to understand that in doing so, you have also insulted my mother. Perhaps when you learn the proper manners fitting of your station, you can come and talk to me again, but until then your presence is not required."

By now they had the attention of most of those gathered around, and quite a few of them were finding it funny. "You dare insult me? Just wait until my father hears about this!" he shouted.

"Yes, run to your father like the child you are. Just remember, Malfoy, your father isn't the only one with money. The Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, has rather large coffers of their own." On the outside, Harry was exuding an aura of complete calm. Growing up the way he did, you learn quickly to hide your emotions and blank your face when you get extra beatings for crying, laughing, or smiling. On the inside however, he was slightly worried. For one he knew he had plenty of gold, but he had no idea how rich the Malfoy family was.

Of course there was also the problem of him being the last from the House of Potter, and he was still only 11 and as of yet had limited magical experience. He knew of course that if he was to not act confident they would walk all over him. He had tried the timid look as a young kid, and Dudley and his gang had pounced on him every time.

Before anybody could say anything else, Professor McGonagall returned. "They are ready for you. Follow me."

Making their way out of the anti-chamber, Lisa grabbed onto his elbow. "Thank you for sticking up for me Harry." she said, looking still a bit hurt from Malfoy's comments.

"Hey, don't listen to a thing that git said. People like him like to throw their money and blood status around to hide the fact they are inferior to those around them." he told her, giving her a quick one armed hug. "Those two gorilla's behind him were probably purebloods too, if they were hanging around him, but from the looks of it they are dumber than a bag of rocks." She nodded her head in reply but seemed to perk up a bit.

'You handled yourself good back there Harry.' Lexi said. 'Seems my many hours of amazing tutelage paid off.' Harry couldn't help but grin at the sound of her smug voice.

Deciding to bolster her already inflated ego he replied. 'Yes well, I do happen to have the most amazing teacher ever.'

'You got that right!' she said. Harry could just imagine her puffing her chest out pompously.

The group finally made it to the great hall, entering through a set of large double doors. There were four long tables sitting side by side. Each one was filled with students of the different houses, each with their different colors and crests on their robes. At the head of the hall was another table that was situated facing towards the other four tables. It was filled with what Harry assumed were the teachers.

There were quite a few gasps when they finally made his way into the hall. He figured it out why immediately. The ceiling itself appeared to just open up to the heavens. It was apparently a cloudless night, as he could see thousands of stars littering the sky, with the moon shining bright amongst them. "It's bewitched to look like the night sky! It was done by Ravenclaw herself. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." said the bushy-haired girl from the train.

'Might have to read that book at some point. If it mentions Lady Ravenclaws achievement with the ceiling, it might have more information about other rare magic around the school.' Harry said to Lexi.

However, Lexi wasn't paying him attention and she seemed to be getting angry. 'Lexi, what is it? What's wrong?' he asked her worriedly.

'It's him! The one who wouldn't let us escape and kept bringing us back and taking away your memories!' she said angrily directing him towards the teachers table.

Sure enough, there he was at the exact center of the table. Lexi had told him about the old man with the white beard many times, making sure he wouldn't forget. Harry couldn't believe it happened to be someone who held so much influence and power over the magical world. He had heard and read many things about the great Albus Dumbledore, defeater of the dark lord Grindelwald. He had however, never seen a picture of him before today, and he was quite worried now.

'What should we do? I don't enjoy being under the thumb of the man who would willingly let me get beaten.' he asked her. 'We have too many secrets that we do not need that man finding out about.'

'For starters, your secrets are fine so long as I am still inside your head. I can detect anybody trying to enter your mind and trust me I will throw them out. However, if I ever do get a body of my own, you are going to need to know how to defend it yourself.' she said. 'As for him, we will just try to avoid him and learn as much as possible. We have no idea what his plan for you is, so for now we will just have to be prepared when the time comes, but we don't want to let him know we are onto him.'

Harry just nodded and directed his gaze away from the man he now hated almost as much as the Dursley's and Voldemort. Harry started scanning the rest of the teachers. A few seats down the table from the headmaster was another man wearing an ugly purple turban, who was staring at him intently. After a few minutes though the man turned his gaze away. Down towards the end of the table was another man who seemed to be looking intently at him. The man was had a hook nose and long greasy black hair. He felt a small prod against his mind before it disappeared.

'Watch out for the black haired teacher Harry. He was just trying to slip into your mind.' Lexi warned him.

'I'm definitely going to have to learn how to protect my mind. It seems that your secrets aren't very safe around here.' Harry responded.

Just then McGonagall returned with a three-legged stool and an old patched and dirty hat. She sat the hat down upon the stool and it began to sing. Harry however, wasn't paying much attention to the hat's song, he was thinking about the knowledge that must have went into making a sentient hat. A few minutes later, he was broken from his thoughts when McGonagall, now holding a scroll in front of her, called out Abbott, Hannah to be sorted.

A blonde with pigtails nervously stepped forward and made her way towards the stool. She took a seat and McGonagall put the hat on her head. A few second later, the brim opened up in the shape of a mouth and shouted, "Hufflepuff!"

'So we just put the hat on and it sorts us?' Harry asked Lexi.

'It would appear so. I would hazard a guess at saying that it too can access your mind to find where to place you.' She answered.

'Well at least it should be easier to talk something that can think for itself into putting us where we want to go.' Harry said.

'I wonder if the hat will be able to tell that I am here?' she asked slightly nervous.

Harry was stopped from answering when he noticed the bushy-brown haired girl was making her way to the stool. 'Please let her be in something other than Ravenclaw.' Harry pleaded to nobody in particular while Lexi just laughed at him.

However, surprisingly she ended up going to Gryffindor. Her spot on the stool was taken up by the girl Daphne from his boat ride in. The other girl Tracey had already been sorted into Slytherin, and a few seconds later Daphne joined her. Harry made mental notes of family names that he remembered reading about that were well off or who were politically powerful.

As it turns out the boy who had lost his toad and had fastened his cloak under his ear, was actually the Longbottom heir and ended up going to Gryffindor. This was slightly surprising as it had seemed to Harry that he was a rather timid natured boy. He noticed that Malfoy went to Slytherin almost before the hat had even touched his head. Before he knew it, it was his name being called. Immediately the hall went silent.

'Just keep calm and make sure you don't show any nervousness.' Lexi told him.

Harry made his way to the stool and took a seat. A few seconds later McGonagall slipped the too large hat onto his head and it slipped down over his eyes. 'Hmm…Hello there Mr. Potter. And what's this? Very intriguing. A Hello to you as well Miss Alexia.'

'I would appreciate it if anything you learn from my head stays between us.' Harry told the hat.

'Yes…yes, not to worry. The founders made me to where I cannot spill any secrets I may learn. There would have been a few less dark lords in the past had I been able to. Now let's take a look inside that head of yours.' He said before Harry could feel him rummaging around lightly in his mind.

'Let's see, plenty of courage. Of course you have to be courageous to survive your home life. Definitely ambitious, you want to rise above everyone else. Be warned it is not an easy path, and more times than not leads to dark lords. Ah yes, but you have intelligence enough to know the fate of all previous dark lords.'

Harry was just glad the hat couldn't spill his secrets to the world. He did indeed have some of the same goals as many previous dark lords, he just was going to be smarter than they were. You kill enough people and stir enough fear, eventually somebody would fight back and take you out. Harry would go a route similar to what he believed Dumbledore had been doing. If you make it appear that you are the hero, while manipulating things behind the scenes, in the end the people will give you the power freely.

'It seems you want to avoid joining either the conceived light or dark side, but yet I see you do not give out trust easily, so Hufflepuff is also not an option. Very well, I can see you wanted it in the first place. Better be…'

"Ravenclaw!" the hat shouted the last part out to the crowd, which immediately erupted in cheer from the Ravenclaw table. Harry turned and winked at Lisa and mouth a quick 'see you in a few', before turning and making his way to where the other Ravenclaw first years were sitting near the end of the table. He didn't have to wait long before Lisa was making her way to the stool. She sat under the hat for a few moments before the hat shouted out Ravenclaw. Harry clapped as harder than the rest of the table.

She took the hat off and quickly made her way over to where he was saving her a seat. "Told you that you would make it in the house of ravens." He said causing her to lightly blush.

"At least I have one friendly face coming in." she smiled.

Harry noticed Ronald Weasley, the red-head from earlier get sorted into Gryffindor and finally a black boy with an Italian looking mix was sorted into Slytherin before Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement and cut off Harry from responding.

"I only have a few words to say before we can start this magnificent feast. They are Nitwit, Oddment, Blubber, and Tweak. Dig in!" With a flourish of his hand the tables instantly filled with piles upon piles of food. Harry may not like the man, but he had to admit he was an excellent actor. When reading up on the magic world, he had read all about the rich and powerful having house elves. Hogwarts was bound to have a ton of their own that would handle the meals. It just goes to prove that perception often played more of a factor then reality. If you could make people think you could do something, it was often faster and easier then actually being able to do it.

Dinner itself was rather enjoyable for Harry. It was probably one of the only meals in his life where he was allowed to eat as much as he wanted too without having to sneak it. He wouldn't gorge himself very often, as he didn't want to gain a ton of weight, but he did manage to have some roast chicken and pork, amongst other stuff. He did find that he really loved the treacle tart that he had for desert. After dessert had disappeared from the tables, Dumbledore once again stood up and silenced the crowd.

"Now that we are all fed and watered, I have a few start of term notices that need to be announced. All first years should note that the forbidden forest is precisely that, forbidden. A few of our older students would do well to remember this." He said looking in the direction of a pair of red-headed twins. "Mr. Filch, our caretaker, has asked me to remind you that there is no magic permitted in the corridors. You can also find a list of banned items posted on his office door. As a final note, all students should be aware that this year the third floor corridor on the left hand side is strictly out of bounds for all those who do not wish to die a most painful death." He paused here for a moment to let it sink in. Harry couldn't help but wonder what it was that would cause a whole corridor to be shut down and apparently either guarded or dangerous to their health.

'Perhaps it has something to do with what Hagrid picked up at Gringotts on your birthday.' Lexi said.

'Perhaps. It's a shame we never could find out what exactly it was that he picked up.' Harry said.

"Now, first years please follow your prefects. Classes begin bright and early in the morning. Chop! Chop!" he said dismissing the students. Harry and Lisa made their way over to the fifth year prefects who had been calling for the first years, and made their way out of the great hall.

The Ravenclaw dorms were located on the seventh floor, and apparently had their own tower. They ended up standing outside of a bronze door with a brass eagle knocker on it. "To enter the common room, you have to use the knocker and the door will ask you a riddle that you must answer correctly to enter. If you have trouble answering the riddle please see one of the prefects or our head of house Professor Flitwick. His office is down the hall and on your left.

After the prefects let the first years have a few minutes of fun solving the riddle, they were led into the tower proper. The common room was circular and had a large statue of a pretty woman wearing a tiara on her head. Harry assumed that this must be Rowena herself. On each side of the statue was a staircase that he assumed was for each the girls and boys part of the tower. There were plenty of single and double chairs and tables spread out throughout the room. It was ideal for doing a lot of studying. There was a nice lounge area that was situated right in front of the fire.

The male prefect broke him from his observations. "Boys dorm is up the staircase on the right, girls the same on your left. As Ravenclaws are known as the studious types, each student has their own room. It is smaller than the rooms of the other houses, but makes up for it by having a quiet place to study on your own. Now head up to bed, and meet back down here at 7am. We will leave at that time and take you back down to the great hall for breakfast, where you will receive your timetables."

Harry said good night to Lisa and made his way up the boy's staircase. Of course the first years were right at the top, so by the time Harry made it up to his room and made it inside, he was rather worn out from the long day. Figuring that he would have plenty of time to check the place out and decorate, he said a quick goodnight to Lexi before undressing and collapsing into bed.


	10. Old Version of The Soul Within - Part 4

Harry woke up rather early the next morning. He was rather eager to start his magical education. Slipping out of bed he decided to give the room a once over. As the prefect had stated the room wasn't anything spectacular, but it would definitely do its job. There was a large four poster bed with blue and bronze hangings in the center against the wall. Opposite of the bed was a door that lead to a small bathroom, equipped with a toilet, sink, and shower. He had a night stand and an armoire to hold his clothes on the side of the bed that had the door back to the common room. On the other side was a decent sized desk with a comfortable chair where he could do his homework or study. Harry quickly put his belongs away from out of his trunk before hopping in the shower.

He had long since grown used to the fact that Lexi was inside his head, even when he showered. Not really bothered by the fact that she could see out of the same set of eyes that he could, he instead used the time spent showering to go over what all they wanted to do for the day outside of classes. Of course one of the first things they would do after they had finished his homework was search out the library for books on rituals, potions, and charms. They both figured it was in one of those subjects they would have their best chance at finding a way to give her a body. That isn't to say that they wouldn't make time to advance him in combat as they both knew the need to defend himself would eventually be important.

By the time Harry had finished showering and had gotten dressed it was almost seven in the morning, so he decided to grab his book bag and head down to the common room. It appeared that Lisa was also an early riser as she too was down there waiting when he arrived. "Sleep well last night Lisa?" he asked her after wishing her a good morning.

"Not really. I was too excited about getting to finally learn some magic!" she laughed. Her chocolate brown eyes were indeed alight with excitement, even if her normally long sleek brown hair looked a bit rushed in her excitement to get started.

"Yeah, I can't wait myself. I have a feeling I will be spending quite a lot of time in the library." He told her.

"Well, you can expect to have a lot of company." She said with a chuckle.

"Sounds good to me." He told her before being cut off by one of the prefect from last night.

"Now that everyone is here, we can make our way down to the great hall." He told the group of first years. "Once you have your schedule's and have finished breakfast, please do not leave the great hall as for the first week a prefect will be guiding you to all of your classes. By then you all should have memorized the proper route." With that he led them out of their common room door, and towards the great hall.

Breakfast was just as good as dinner the night before. He ended up having bacon, ham, and scrambled eggs with toast. Harry and Lisa were making small talk with each other, both content for the time being with each other's company and not feeling the need to branch out just yet. Towards the end of breakfast their head of house, who was rather short, came by passing out their schedules. Taking a look at it, Harry recognized that it obviously wasn't for a few years that they started on any of the, admittedly harder, subjects such as ancient runes or arithmancy. Harry was hoping they would have started out taking those classes as he had quite a bit to learn about runes and rituals if he ever wanted to help out Lexi.

It turned out that they would be having Charms, Transfiguration, DADA, History of Magic twice per week. While Potions and Herbology met only once per week for a double lesson. They also had Astronomy at midnight on Wednesdays. Their double classes were each held in conjunction with the Hufflepuffs, while the shorter classes were Ravenclaw only.

Mondays they would have Charms and Double Potions. Tuesdays would be Transfiguration and DADA. Wednesdays would be History of magic and Charms again, with Astronomy at midnight. Thursdays would be Transfiguration and Double Herbology, and Fridays would be DADA and History of Magic, both in the morning. They wouldn't be having any classes after lunch on Friday until Monday morning. This would give them plenty of time to finish the week's homework on Friday leaving the entire weekend to learn and study!

After breakfast the prefects showed them to their first class, which was Double Potions with the puffs as it was a Monday. They would have Charms after lunch. After making their way into the classroom and taking their seats, Harry partnered up with Lisa, the door slammed open and the instructor entered the classroom. It didn't take long before Harry was glad Lexi had him read ahead in all of his subjects.

It seemed as if Professor Snape, the same hook-nosed professor who had tried to read his mind the night before, had a grudge against him. He ended up singling him out and asking him questions that Harry knew were at best late first year material. Thankfully Harry had been able to answer all of the questions as politely as he could, but it still didn't save him from losing fifteen points by the end of class.

"I wonder why Professor Snape seems to hate you so much." Lisa said to him after the grueling three hour lesson.

"I have no idea, but it seems as if I am going to have to make sure to study hard to pass his class." Harry told her.

'There was no way your boil cure should have received an Acceptable. Yours was probably one of the best in the class! I'll boil that greasy-haired bastard in the first potion he has me brew!' Lexi bristled to him trying to shake off her anger at the greasy-haired professor. She always took personal offense to anybody who treated her Harry the way he was just treated. After lunch the Ravenclaw first years were led to the Charms classroom where Professor Flitwick was waiting for them to arrive.

"Welcome class." He greeted them. "Once you have your seats we shall get started."

As the students were taking their seats, Harry once again sitting with Lisa, the professor took his place behind his podium but on top of a large stack of books to help him see over the top. Once they were all seated he began. "Charms is one of the most used skills that we as witches and wizards use in day to day life. Many day to day activities use many different charms such as cleaning, cooking, and as we will be learning today, creating light."

Once he made sure he still held the class's attention he continued. "Like most types of spells cast with a wand, the spells you will learn in this class are powered by emotions, focus, and intent. However, the use of wand movements and incantations are needed for younger witches and wizards until it becomes easier to focus their mind and control their emotions. Of course this will take years for most of you and silent casting and casting with limited wand movements are not taught until 6th year at the earliest."

'Sounds like we need to work on focusing your mind in the future. Perhaps we can find some techniques in the library to help with it.' Lexi said. 'At least your mind is fairly organized for someone your age.'

'We already know it is possible to enter other people's minds. I wonder how many different types of mind magics exist. It will definitely be worth looking into.' Harry told her before turning his attention back to the professor.

"Now we will be starting with the Lumos spell today as it has no wand movements and is very easy to visualize its effects." Flitwick told the class before doing a demonstration. "Lumos!" he said clearly for the class before a bright white light erupted from the tip of his wand. "Now I want you all to pull out your wands and give the spell a try, and remember to focus on creating the light in your minds when you cast the spell. That is the key!"

At once the room was filled with the shouts of Lumos. Even though the professor had told them there were no wand movements required, there were still a few people waving their wand around. Harry picked up his wand and concentrating in his mind on creating light, visualizing what it would look like, he gave it a try. "Lumos." He incanted. Immediately a small white light burst from the tip of his wand.

"Oh well done! See here everyone, Mr. Potter has done it." the excitable little professor exclaimed. "Keep giving it a try Mr. Potter. I want to see how bright you can get it before the end of class."

By the end of class Harry was pleased with himself. He had managed to get his light almost as bright as the one that Flitwick had produced. He had also given Lisa a few tips to help her out and she herself had a decently bright light by the time class had ended. Together they had earned back almost all of the points that Professor Snape had taken away from him.

After classes were done for the day, Harry and Lisa both headed to the library to finish what homework they had, joined by Su Li and Michael Corner their fellow Ravenclaw's, before heading down to dinner. After dinner the two once again made their way back to the library to do some personal studying. Lisa pulled out a book on Transfiguration, which they would be having tomorrow, while Harry took a beginners guide to runes and rituals.

Harry quickly learned that he wouldn't be performing any huge rituals anytime soon. While the rituals themselves were pretty straight forward, the rune clusters, potions, and even some of the sacrifices that went into making a successful ritual would take years before a normal person could have a good enough grasp of them. Of course Harry wasn't normal person. For one he was rather smart for his age, and the biggest factor of all was that he was doing this for Lexi, so he would study as hard as he could to be able to learn all of the information as quickly as possible.

In order to make extra time to study his personal project, he would make sure that he knew and understood the theory of all his subjects and make sure he could do the practical perfect as well, but he didn't plan on wasting all of his time turning in perfect homework. He knew that the only grades that mattered were his O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s. The way he saw it was so long as he knew the theory and could perform the practical better than anyone in his year, the homework wasn't worth the extra time it would take to do it properly.

The next morning saw Harry and Lisa in Transfiguration class waiting for the professor to arrive. They had arrived a few minutes before the bell, but so far there was only a gray tabby cat sitting on the teacher's desk. Harry and the two girls found this odd, but couldn't make heads of tails of it. That is until the bell rang and the cat jumped off the desk. Transforming in mid-jump, the gray tabby turned back into the tall stern woman who had sorted them a couple days previously.

"Wow." Most of the class said at the same time.

'That could be a very useful skill to have.' Lexi said to Harry.

'Yeah. I wonder if you can turn into any animal or not?' Harry asked rhetorically.

Thankfully for Harry and his curiosity, a few other students had a few of the same questions and had spoken up and asked her before he could. According to McGonagall, every person had a form that represented an animal that matched their inner personality. Of course becoming an animagus was a very long and arduous process that took almost a year for even the most trained mind, and usually caused most people to give up on it. She however did not mention how to go about doing it, stating that they were all still years away from being able to do it.

Defense Against the Dark Arts, turned out to be a rather worthless class. Harry and Lexi were both quite disappointed as they had both held high hopes for the class. As it turned out the man wearing the purple turban from the feast was their professor. Professor Quirrell seemed to be terrified of his job and spent most of the class trying to stutter through his lesson. It seemed that they would just have to do independent study when they could find the time.

Of course Harry found the extra time the very next day during History of Magic. The ghost professor, Cuthbert Binns, apparently woke up one day to go teach and left his body behind and has been doing it ever since. Harry had already read the entire book for the year, which the professor seemed to be reading from during his lecture, and he had a pretty good memory as it was. Needless to say his attentions would be elsewhere while in that class.

Double Herbology the next day with the puffs was rather interesting. Since the sorting he had wanted to talk to Susan Bones. He knew that the head of the DMLE was named Amelia Bones, but didn't know how closely, if at all, they were related. They were also an old pureblood family, though they leaned more towards the light. So when the professor Pomona Sprout, a short and plump woman with curly hair and a kind face, asked them to get into groups of four, Harry immediately grabbed Lisa by the elbow and pulled her over to where Susan was standing with the blonde girl who was sorted first.

"Hello, I'm Harry Potter and this is Lisa Turpin. Do you two mind if we work together?" he asked to two girls holding out his hand.

Susan went to shake his hand as she introduced herself to him, and Harry dragged it up to his mouth and gave her knuckles a swift kiss the same as he had on the boat ride to the castle. Checking her over really quickly, he noticed he had rather pretty strawberry-blonde hair and must have been closer to twelve then eleven because she was already starting to develop into a young woman.

Turning to the blonde beside her he said. "And who just might this equally lovely lady be?" he thought he was laying it on a bit thick, but Lexi had assured him that women loved to be complimented, and especially on their beauty so he decided to go with it. Lexi had never steered him wrong before so he would follow her advice.

The girl blushed before extending her hand to him. "Hannah Abbott. Pleasure to meet you." She almost squeaked as he gave her hand the same treatment as Susan's.

"So do you two mind if we join you for our lesson?" Harry asked them again. After receiving an affirmative the four made some small talk in the few minutes before lesson was to begin. Harry had managed to slyly worm out of her that Amelia Bones was indeed her aunt. He didn't want to just jump straight out and ask her, and he didn't want her to feel as if that was the only reason he had talked to her.

The lesson itself was rather easy, albeit a tad boring, due to the fact he had been slaving away in a garden since he was five at the Dursley's. Still, at least the teacher was quite a bit friendlier than Professor Snape had been in potions. Harry ended up leaving when the bell rung, but did manage to pass along the invitation to study with him and Lisa to Susan and Hannah. While he didn't plan on studying with anyone, with the except of maybe Lisa, on the weekends when he studied for his special project; he would like to form a few study groups during the week to get to know some of the more influential people better.

After classes on Friday had finished, Harry and Lisa were joined by Susan and Hannah from Hufflepuff, Su Li, Megan Jones, Terry Boot, and Michael Corner from Ravenclaw, and Daphne and Tracey from Slytherin as a rather large study group. They did not have any Gryffindor's present as Harry didn't want there to be any problems since they had two Slytherin's in the group. All in all it was a fairly productive evening, and everyone managed to have their weeks' worth of homework completed a half an hour before dinner, which they used to get to know each other a bit better.

The next few weeks went by in a similar fashion. Harry would be one of the first people to catch on to the spell work in classes, and would turn in acceptable homework. During the evenings their study group would meet and do their homework and discuss any problems each person may have, while the others in the group would help them to figure it out. On the weekends Harry and Lisa would study together in the library. Lisa would study future lessons that Harry had already done during the summer and occasionally any particular piece of magic that caught her interest. Harry would search through countless books on runes and rituals.

Harry understood that the task he was on wouldn't be solved overnight but he still couldn't help but feel the pressures from the gargantuan task he has set for himself. In order to calm his nerves he had taken to walking and pacing the 7th floor corridors away from the entrance to Ravenclaw tower. Of course Lexi would be, just as she was doing now, there to keep him company and keep him from getting down on himself.

'It has only been three weeks. I don't expect this to be done anytime soon, so don't be so hard on yourself.' She told him as he continued his walk down a particularly empty stretch of the corridor that only held one painting.

'I know you don't expect anything from me, but I want to, no I need to do this for you. You're the only one who has been there for me in my life and this is the only way I can think to repay you for everything.' Harry told her with a slightly downcast voice. 'I know I can't expect it to be over with anytime soon, but I just want it so bad and you deserve it.'

'I have faith in you Harry.' She said as Harry watched a troll in the lone painting slip and fall while trying to learn how to ballerina before he continued on with his walk. 'We both know this will probably take years, but don't let it get you down. Besides it's not like it's don't enjoy where I am now. Having a body doesn't fix a problem, it just adds to an already good thing for me.'

'Thanks Lexi. I know I've said it a million times, but I don't know where I would be without you. The Dursley's may have never cared for me or shown me any type of love, but I know you have.' He told her with a tender voice. 'I just want you to know that so far you are the only one in the world that I can say I love you too, and I promise that I won't give up on this.'

'I love you too Harry.' She said with a cracked voice. 'and don't worry about the Dursley's, they may have not been any good in life, but I promise you one day their death will be of some use to you.'

Harry just chuckled. 'You won't see me standing in your way. Any fate they get in life will be too kind compared to what they did to me. I know you helped my magic heal me up as best as you could, but I still have the scars on my back from that overweight oaf. Thankfully you were there, or I would probably be some timid, scared little boy who would have latched onto the first people who showed me any kind of acceptance.'

He gave a little shiver at that last thought. Merlin only knows how bad off he would have been if he had made friends with the youngest Weasley boy in Gryffindor. Harry had only talked to the boy a few times, but just from what he had observed the boy was terribly rude and had absolutely no table manners whatsoever. Of course the boy did have his uses. Apparently he offended Draco and the two have been going back and forth at each other ever since.

'I won't try and come up with anything too fancy for them as I don't want to fall down the same path as Voldemort…maybe just tip toe the line between him and Dumbledore though.' She said with a smirk that brought him out of his thoughts on the Weasley boy.

Harry snorted. 'Those two both started at the same place, here at Hogwarts, and want to end up in the same place; ruling the world. The only difference between the two is the route they are taking. But there is no rule that says a fork in the road can only have two paths. We shall make our own right in between them.'

'There's that ambitiousness the sorting hat spoke about.' She laughed. 'Come on, it is getting close to curfew and I'd hate to have to murder filch because he couldn't keep the insults to himself.'

'Alright.' He chuckled. 'I would hate to have you land in Azkaban the first day I finally get you a body.'

The next day was a Sunday and Harry and Lisa decided to spend most of it in the library. So directly after breakfast they made their way to a table in the back corner to ensure themselves some privacy. Unsurprisingly the pair weren't the first in there. As was usual, the bushy-haired Gryffindor girl, who they had found her name was Hermione, was once again in there first.

They had only spoken to the girl once or twice, when either side had a question about location of a particular book or other mundane topics. She spent just as much, if not more, time in the library than Harry or Lisa did. The major difference between them was that Harry and Lisa could be seen during the week with their study group, while Hermione would be in the mostly by herself. Harry almost felt bad for the brainy girl, but at the moment his plate was just too full to take on a charity case, as bad as it sounded even in his head.

The part that had mostly kept Harry frustrated was the fact that, even though he had managed to pick up the material on runes and rituals, it seemed as if most of the stuff in the regular part of the library was just mostly useless for what it was he was trying to do. Lexi was sure that the books that would really help would be in the restricted section, but he couldn't think of a good enough excuse to approach a teacher with to try and get a pass. In the mean time, he would just keep looking through the normal books to try and find out what he could.

The hardest part was trying to even decide where to begin looking. Harry was sure that what he was trying to do was knowledge that only a few, perhaps even nobody, currently knew of. It was Lexi who gave him his jumping point, and they were currently looking to find out exactly what and how it was she came to existence, but so far it was resulting in zero answers.

It was the end of the first month of school and as happened every year, Dumbledore was having his month staff meeting in his office. All of the teachers were currently gathered and he was just waiting on his potions master before starting. A few moments later his detection ward, that he had set up at the entrance to his staircase, chimed in his head letting him know that his missing professor was indeed approaching.

After answering his knock, Severus walked briskly into his office and made his way to his customary spot in the darkest corner of the room. "Now that we are all gathered, we can discuss how things are going for our first month back." Albus began. "Why don't we start with you Minerva?"

"So far my lions are adjusting quite well." The Scottish woman began. "The only problems I am having from my first years are rather minor at the moment and nothing I cannot handle."

"And what would these problems be my dear?" Albus asked his Transfiguration mistress.

"Well it is nothing major mind you, but one of my first years, Ronald Weasley, seems to be rather lazy when it comes to his studies. Of course he has entered into several conflicts with Mr. Malfoy, and does seem to be rather hot headed. Another student of mine, Hermione Granger, is the exact opposite. She has impeccable grades but seems to be isolated from the rest of her peers." She answered dutifully.

Albus knew of the youngest Weasley boy. While he may have a few faults, he was still only 11 and his parents had been firmly on his side for decades so he would give the boy some leeway. As for the Granger girl, so long as she wasn't studying anything of a darker nature he wouldn't worry. Afterall he was sure she would come around eventually and get to know some of her yearmates. "Very well my dear, both problems I am sure you are more than capable of handling." He answered, receiving a nod from Minerva.

"How about you Pomona? Everything going good with your badgers?" he asked the Herbology teacher.

"Everything is going just perfect Albus. We had a couple cases of home sickness, but as usual my older puffs stepped right up and helped make them feel at home." She answered proudly. She was always happy about her group of students.

"Very good, very good indeed." Albus intoned absentmindedly before turning to his Potions master. "And how about you Severus?"

"Everything has been quiet in my house. The only real disruption has been Mr. Malfoy's run-ins with the Weasley boy, of course I am sure it is mostly of Mr. Weasley's own doing." Albus's past and future spy answered.

"Excellent." He replyed, turning to the professor he was looking forward to asking the most. "And what about you Filius?"

"Everything is just fine as usual, Albus." The diminutive professor replied. "As usual my ravens are studying hard and the first years seem to be getting along just fine. In fact quite a few of them have even joined a study group with a couple of Pomona and Severus's students." He chuckled at that. He knew that it had to be eating the head of Slytherin house up, knowing that his students were mixing with those from other houses, even if he couldn't protest about it.

"Wonderful!" Albus said merrily. He was glad to see some inter-house unity between the snakes and the rest of the school. Finally he turned to his real objective. "What can you tell me of Mr. Potter, Filius?"

The small professor smiled when he heard the name of one of his new favorite students. "Mr. Potter has been performing admirably in class of course. He is also part of the study group I mentioned earlier with the other houses. He seems to get along just fine with the other students, but it is Miss. Turpin who he seems to spend most of his time with. They can usually be found studying together in the library."

Albus had rather been hoping the boy would have been put into Gryffindor, where he was sure there was no darker influence that could have grabbed ahold of him. However, he was just glad the boy hadn't been sorted into Slytherin like he feared could have happened. Ideally he would have befriended young Ronald, as his family had been some of his greatest supporters for years, but Harry had shown only disinterest the few times he had seen Mr. Weasley approach him. He was slightly worried about him being in a study group with a couple of the Slytherin girls but as far as he knew, while slightly darker on the scale then he would have liked, he didn't believe either house to have any ties to Voldemort, so he would allow it for now.

"Do you have anything to add Minerva?" he asked the scot.

"The boy seems very polite and exceptionally talented. He is usually the first to accomplish a new spell. As Filius stated, the only time he is seen with anyone other then Miss. Turpin, other than in short conversations, is when he is with his study group." She answered her boss. "Overall, I would say he has a healthy mix of his mother and father. Thankfully he seems to have received his behavior from his mother." She chuckled at her own joke.

"Thank you Minerva. Pomona, anything?" he asked.

"I don't have much to add, Albus, other than the fact that he seems to get along just fine with a few of my students, Miss Bones and Miss Abbott. Both are also in the same study group with Mr. Potter." She answered dutifully.

This was good news for Albus. While Amelia Bones wasn't one of his supporters, she was at least firmly in on the side of the light. She was a rather strict and determined woman, but she was very good at her job. Finally he turned to his Potions master again. "And what do you have to add, Severus?"

With a sneer the Potions master answered. "The boy has acceptable talent, but nothing special." He received some crazy looks from the other professors. They of course weren't expecting anything of use from the potions professor as they knew that the rivalry with James Potter went too deep to allow it. "However, he is better behaved than his father, even if only marginally."

"Very well, thank you Severus." Albus chuckled. He knew that even getting him to admit that much was basically like saying Merlin had just been reincarnated. "Until next month, I bid you all a goodnight. Severus can you stay just a moment please."

The potions professor nodded, while the rest of the staff filed out the door, saying their goodnights to the old headmaster. Once the pair were alone he asked the questions he really wanted to find out. "So Severus, what do you really think of Mr. Potter? Are there any adverse signs that we should be made aware of?"

Severus waited a moment to gather his thoughts. "The boy…is rather talented, however I do my best to keep him from getting a head the size of his fathers. I did try to take a look into his mind, but was unable to enter it. I am assuming he has a small amount of natural talent at Occlumency, as I did not press to hard."

"I must warn you to be careful Severus, even if it is for the greater good, it is still illegal and would not go over well if you were to be found out." Albus said before turning to the next topic he needed to discuss. "What about the stone? Have you heard anything about Tom coming for it?"

"I am not sure if there is any connection to the dark lord, but it appears to me that Quirrell is acting rather suspiciously and I believe he may make an attempt at it." Severus told him.

"That is troublesome indeed." Albus replied. "I will need you to keep an eye on him of course. I fully expect Tom to come after the stone, but I do not need a second person to have to worry about. I am already trying to find a way to test Harry to find out how much potential the boy has."

"Do you think it is wise to let the boy potentially try to stop the dark lord from getting the stone?" he asked skeptically.

"Tom is still weak, and it would be the perfect time for young Harry to test the waters. Besides I do not believe that the protection that saved him from the killing curse would allow him to be harmed by Tom. This is the main thing I am wanting to test." Albus told him. "I am fairly certain that Harry received a magical protection from Tom thanks to his mothers sacrifice. It was also the reason I kept Mr. Potter with his muggle relatives, as he had to be near a blood relative of Lily's to activate the blood wards around his home."

"You mean Petunia?" Severus said wide-eyed. "Albus even as a child that woman hated Lily and all things magic! You really think it was wise to trust her with the boy?"

"I will admit," Albus began. "it was rather touch and go for a while. Young Harry had even ran away a couple of times, forcing me to track him down, but there haven't been any problems I have noticed in quite a few years."

"Very well." Severus finally responded. "Will there be anything else?"

"No I believe we are done for the night." Albus said tiredly. "Goodnight, Severus." He only received a slight nod before he was alone once more.

Of course what the old headmaster didn't know was that thanks to Lexi, all of the signs he could have picked up on about Harry's abuse were fixed and healed almost overnight. While he didn't want to force anybody to have to grow up in a house where he was not wanted, it was for the greater good. He knew Tom was not dead, even though he only had mere guesses as to why, and the world would need a new hero to take up his mantle when he finally moved on to the next great adventure.

As he lay down into bed for the night, he never even knew that in a way he had helped shape Harry more then he knew. From the moment he had offered Harry to the Dursley's as a slave and failed to take away Lexi's memories when Harry had ran away, along with Voldemort murdering his parents, the pair had both helped to shape how Harry destiny would turn out. Of course Harry planned on only taking the best parts of both of them, while like he planned to do with the real-life versions, scrapping whatever was left over.

AN: As I will try to do in each chapter, I just want to try and solve any questions you guys might have from this chapter before you ask them. As far as Harry and Lexi go, yes they will lean slightly towards the dark side, but no they will not take up the mantle after Voldemort. It is entirely possible that they may kill in the future, but it will only be those that they (and I) felt deserved it. While they do both desire to 'rule the world' they plan on doing it more the Slytherin way (which is how I feel that Dumbledore has been doing things his entire life) rather than the Voldemort way (which I felt was more Gryffindorish than anything.) if you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask them.


	11. The Magic of Ice and Fire

**AN: Hello all! This is another story idea that has plagued my mind to be written. I must admit that this has a strong chance of being written if the response is there for it. It is a Harry Potter/Game of Thrones(A Song of Ice and Fire) Crossover fic. The pairing will be Harry/Daenerys pairing. I will likely write the next few chapters of this anyhow and post them here just so you guys get a better feel of where I want to take this story.  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, or A Song of Ice and Fire.**

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><p>Harry felt oddly separate from everyone around him, whether they were wishing him good luck or hissing "We'll have a box of tissues ready, Potter" as he passed. It was a state of nervousness so advanced that he wondered whether he mightn't just lose his head when they tried to lead him out to his dragon, and start trying to curse everyone in sight.<p>

Time was behaving in a more peculiar fashion than ever, rushing past in great dollops, so that one moment he seemed to be sitting down in his first lesson, History of Magic, and the next, walking into lunch.. . and then (where had the morning gone? the last of the dragon-free hours?), Professor McGonagall was hurrying over to him in the Great Hall.

Lots of people were watching.

"Potter, the champions have to come down onto the grounds now...You have to get ready for your first task."

"Okay," said Harry, standing up, his fork falling onto his plate with a clatter.

"Good luck, Harry," Hermione whispered. "You'll be fine!"

"Yeah," said Harry in a voice that was most unlike his own.

He heft the Great Hall with Professor McGonagall. She didn't seem herself either; in fact, she looked nearly as anxious as Hermione. As she walked him down the stone steps and out into the cold November afternoon, she put her hand on his shoulder.

"Now, don't panic," she said, "just keep a cool head...We've got wizards standing by to control the situation if it gets out of hand...The main thing is just to do your best, and nobody will think any the worse of you...Are you all right?"

"Yes," Harry heard himself say, mentally trying to figure out exactly what everyone would think after today. Likely, they would be mostly happy, he thought. "Yes, I'm fine."

She was leading him toward the place where the dragons were, around the edge of the forest, but when they approached the clump of trees behind which the enclosure would be clearly visible, Harry saw that a tent had been erected, its entrance facing them, screening the dragons from view.

"You're to go in here with the other champions," said Professor McGonagall, in a rather shaky sort of voice, "and wait for your turn, Potter. Mr. Bagman is in there...he'll be telling you the - the procedure...Good luck."

"Thanks," said Harry, in a flat, distant voice. He doubted she truly meant much by it, more so doing the platitudes that she felt were her duty. It wasn't as if anyone had actually cared much for his well being in the past. She left him at the entrance of the tent. Harry went inside.

Fleur Delacour was sitting in a corner on a how wooden stool. She didn't look nearly as composed as usual, but rather pale and clammy. Viktor Krum looked even surlier than usual, which Harry supposed was his way of showing nerves. Cedric was pacing up and down. When Harry entered, Cedric gave him a small smile, which Harry didn't bother to return, feeling the muscles in his face working rather hard to keep from scowling at everyone.

"Harry! Good-o!" said Bagman happily, looking around at him. "Come in, come in, make yourself at home!"

Bagman looked somehow like a slightly overblown cartoon figure, standing amid all the pale-faced champions. He was wearing his old Wasp robes again.

"Well, now we're all here - time to fill you in!" said Bagman brightly. "When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering each of you this bag" - he held up a small sack of purple silk and shook it at them - "from which you will each select a small model of the thing you are about to face! There are different - er - varieties, you see.

And I have to tell you something else too.. . ah, yes... your task is to collect the golden egg!"

Harry glanced around. Cedric had nodded once, to show that he understood Bagman's words, and then started pacing around the tent again; he looked slightly green. Fleur Delacour and Krum hadn't reacted at all. Perhaps they thought they might be sick if they opened their mouths; that was certainly how Harry felt. But they, at least, had volunteered for this. It didn't matter...it wasn't as if Harry actually planned to defeat the dragon. No, he had other plans for the day.

And in no time at all, hundreds upon hundreds of pairs of feet could be heard passing the tent, their owners talking excitedly, laughing, joking...Harry felt as separate from the crowd as though they were a different species. Perhaps they were. None of them had had to endure what he had over the course of his life. Treated as a worthless freak and a slave growing up, praised when it was convenient and they wanted something from him, and vilified when he had nothing to offer. It seemed like about a second later to Harry - Bagman was opening the neck of the purple silk sack.

"Ladies first," he said, offering it to Fleur Delacour.

She put a shaking hand inside the bag and drew out a tiny, perfect model of a dragon - a Welsh Green. It had the number two around its neck And Harry knew, by the fact that Fleur showed no sign of surprise, but rather a determined resignation, that he had been right: Madame Maxime had told her what was coming.

The same held true for Krum. He pulled out the scarlet Chinese Fireball. It had a number three around its neck. He didn't even blink, just sat back down and stared at the ground.

Cedric put his hand into the bag, and out came the blueish-gray Swedish Short-Snout, the number one tied around its neck. Knowing what was left, Harry put his hand into the silk bag and pulled out the Hungarian Horntail, and the number four. It stretched its wings as he looked down at it, and bared its minuscule fangs. Harry had pretty well known all along it would be the Horntail he would face. After all, life wasn't complete if he wasn't getting the short end of the stick.

Not all was lost, however. While he would have a slightly harder time with this dragon, it's egg would be worth many times more than the other breeds.

"Well, there you are!" said Bagman. "You have each pulled out the dragon you will face, and the numbers refer to the order in which you are to take on the dragons, do you see?

Now, I'm going to have to leave you in a moment, because I'm commentating. Mr. Diggory, you're first, just go out into the enclosure when you hear a whistle, all right? Now... Harry... could I have a quick word? Outside?"

"Er...yes," said Harry blankly, and he got up and went out of the tent with Bagman, who walked him a short distance away, into the trees, and then turned to him with a fatherly expression on his face.

"Feeling all right, Harry? Anything I can get you?"

"What?" said Harry. "I - no, nothing."

"Got a plan?" said Bagman, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "Because I don't mind sharing a few pointers, if you'd like them, you know. I mean," Bagman continued, lowering his voice still further, "you're the underdog here, Harry...Anything I can do to help..."

"No," said Harry so quickly he knew he had sounded rude, "no - I - I know what I'm going to do, thanks."

Harry did know what he was doing...he was leaving the fare weather friends behind today. No longer would he be treated as if a mushroom...kept in the dark and fed only shit, when it came to matters of his life. The stares, whispers, badges proclaiming 'Potter Stinks', everything...He was tired of it all. Even his best friend, Ron, had betrayed him.

"Nobody would know, Harry," said Bagman, winking at him.

"No, I'm fine," said Harry. "I've got a plan worked out, I -"

A whistle had blown somewhere.

"Good lord, I've got to run!" said Bagman in alarm, and he hurried off.

Harry walked back to the tent and saw Cedric emerging from it, greener than ever. Harry didn't bother to wish him luck as he walked past, it wasn't as if anyone really cared for his words of encouragement.

Harry went back inside to Fleur and Krum. Seconds hater, they heard the roar of the crowd, which meant Cedric had entered the enclosure and was now face-to-face with the living counterpart of his model.

It was worse than Harry could ever have imagined, sitting there and listening. The crowd screamed. . . yelled.. . gasped like a single many-headed entity, as Cedric did whatever he was doing to get past the Swedish Short-Snout. Krum was still staring at the ground.

Harry decided to ignore the sounds from the outside world and think back on his last few days of preparations.

Ron had been the final step. It was then, when Ron turned his back on him, that he knew he really didn't belong to this world, magical or Muggle really. Just as they had in second year, the entire school had turned on him the moment his name had came from the goblet. Well, all except for Hermione. He would miss his one true friend, but one friend does not overturn all of crap he had to put up with.

So Harry decided he was done with it. Done with the Muggles, done with the wizarding world, and done with threats to his life that loomed around every corner. Harry had packed his trunk days ago with all of his belongings, even taking care to 'borrow' as many books on magic that he could from the library. He packed up a few weeks worth of food, and he was leaving the wizarding world behind, but not his magic.

He had spent weeks gathering the books from the library that he felt would give him the knowledge he would need to know in the future. He skipped over the useless subjects, such as Herbology, Divination, and History. He instead concentrated on magic for fighting and everyday magic that he would use.

He would have liked to emptied his bank vault, but he no longer even had his key, so he had to improvise. Which was where the first task came into play.

Harry knew from first year with Norbert just how valuable dragon eggs were supposed to be. That was why Harry had truthfully hoped to be paired against the Hungarian Horntail. They were one of the most ferocious breeds and their eggs were rare and extremely valuable. He would find a way to sell the egg and earn enough money to live a small, but comfortable life. He also had packed the same books on Dragons that Hagrid had used years before just in case his plans were slowed and the dragon hatched before he could sell it.

Applause shattered the wintery air like breaking glass; Krum had finished - it would be Harry's turn any moment.

He stood up, noticing dimly that his legs seemed to be made of marshmallow. He waited. While his plan seemed good in his head, he still knew that out flying a dragon, especially the Horntail, would be no easy task.

And then he heard the whistle blow. He walked out through the entrance of the tent, the panic rising into a crescendo inside him. And now he was walking past the trees, through a gap in the enclosure fence.

He saw everything in front of him as though it was a very highly colored dream. There were hundreds and hundreds of faces staring down at him from stands that had been magicked there since he'd last stood on this spot. And there was the Horntail, at the other end of the enclosure, crouched low over her clutch of eggs, her wings half-furled, her evil, yellow eyes upon him, a monstrous, scaly, black lizard, thrashing her spiked tail, heaving yard-long gouge marks in the hard ground. The crowd was making a great deal of noise, but whether friendly or not, Harry didn't know or care. It was time to do what he had to do. . . to focus his mind, entirely and absolutely, upon the thing that was his only chance.

He raised his wand.

"Accio Firebolt!" he shouted.

Harry waited, every fiber of him hoping, praying...If it hadn't worked...if it wasn't coming...He seemed to be looking at everything around him through some sort of shimmering, transparent barrier, like a heat haze, which made the enclosure and the hundreds of faces around him swim strangely.

And then he heard it, speeding through the air behind him; he turned and saw his Firebolt hurtling toward him around the edge of the woods, soaring into the enclosure, and stopping dead in midair beside him, waiting for him to mount. The crowd was making even more noise...Bagman was shouting something, but Harry's ears were not working properly anymore... listening wasn't important...

He swung his leg over the broom and kicked off from the ground. And a second later, something miraculous happened...

As he soared upward, as the wind rushed through his hair, as the crowd's faces became mere flesh-colored pinpricks below, and the Horntail shrank to the size of a dog, he realized that he had heft not only the ground behind, but also his fear..He was back where he belonged...

This was just another Quidditch match, that was all...just another Quidditch match, and that Horntail was just another ugly opposing team.

He looked down at the clutch of eggs and spotted the gold one, gleaming against its cement-colored fellows, residing safely between the dragon's front legs. "Okay," Harry told himself, "diversionary tactics...let's go..."

He dived. The Horntail's head followed him; he knew what it was going to do and pulled out of the dive just in time; a jet of fire had been released exactly where he would have been had he not swerved away...but Harry didn't care...that was no more than dodging a Bludger.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled Bagman as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

Harry soared higher in a circle; the Horntail was still following his progress; its head revolving on its long neck - if he kept this up, it would be nicely dizzy - but better not push it too long, or it would be breathing fire again - Harry plummeted just as the Horntail opened its mouth, but this time he was less lucky - he missed the flames, but the tail came whipping up to meet him instead, and as he swerved to the left, one of the long spikes grazed his shoulder, ripping his robes - He could feel it stinging, he could hear screaming and groans from the crowd, but the cut didn't seem to be deep...Now he zoomed around the back of the Horntail, and a possibility occurred to him...

The Horntail didn't seem to want to take off, she was too protective of her eggs. Though she writhed and twisted, furling and unfurling her wings and keeping those fearsome yellow eyes on Harry, she was afraid to move too far from them...but he had to persuade her to do it, or he'd never get near them...The trick was to do it carefully, gradually...

He began to fly, first this way, then the other, not near enough to make her breathe fire to stave him off, but still posing a sufficient threat to ensure she kept her eyes on him. Her head swayed this way and that, watching him out of those vertical pupils, her fangs bared...

He flew higher. The Horntail's head rose with him, her neck now stretched to its fullest extent, still swaying, hike a snake before its charmer. . .

Harry rose a few more feet, and she let out a roar of exasperation. He was like a fly to her, a fly she was longing to swat; her tail thrashed again, but he was too high to reach now...She shot fire into the air, which he dodged...Her jaws opened wide...

"Come on," Harry hissed, swerving tantalizingly above her, "come on, come and get me...up you get now!"

And then she reared, spreading her great, black, leathery wings at last, as wide as those of a small airplane - and Harry dived. Before the dragon knew what he had done, or where he had disappeared to, he was speeding toward the ground as fast as he could go, toward the eggs now unprotected by her clawed front legs - he had taken his hands off his Firebolt, quickly using the few precious seconds he had to make his selection.

There is the very middle of her clutch, right next to the golden egg, was the one he wanted. Pure black in color, covered with a mess of tiny spikes. The egg was quite a bit larger than the others in the nest, and Harry knew it would be the most valuable by far. It was quite a bit bigger than the egg he had seen of Norbert.

Harry's hands, honed by hours of snagging the snitch, reached out and scooped up the large black egg from the others and immediately began to take off. His first plan was to take the egg to Gringott's and see how much the goblins would be willing to pay for his egg, but one very pissed of mother dragon had other plans.

With a massive roar, filled with anger and worry over her egg, she pulled hard on the chain holding her to the ground and sped off towards Harry the moment it snapped. Harry only had a seconds notice that something had gone wrong before he had to speed off and dodge a blast of fire from the angry Horntail.

He leaned hard on his broom, the stolen egg still clasped under his left arm, with the dragon hot on his tail. He sped off over the forbidden forest, keeping as low to the forest canopy as he dared, knowing that the dragon would have the agility to fly as low.

For miles and miles he flew as fast as the Firebolt would allow him, but the dragon was slowly catching him. The tail of his broom was already smoking and slightly charred from one too many close calls. By now, he could no longer see the castle in the distance, and he could not see an end in sight to the massive forest.

The dragon was gnashing it's teeth mere feet behind Harry now, and he was getting truly desperate to escape a fiery death. His broom was slowly losing altitude until his foot clipped a tree branch and threw off his balance, ripping him from his broom. He was bounced and smashed against branch after branch as he fell towards the ground.

The dragon, in its rage and singular focus on Harry and her egg, followed suit and charged down through the canopy after them. Unfortunately, for the dragon at least, trees weren't the only thing that inhabited this particular portion of the forest.

Just as the Horntail smashed it's way through the canopy, it finally figured that fact out. From nowhere a large obelisk found it's mark into the chest of great beast, lodging itself deep in it's chest. Large pools of blood poured from the chest of the great beast, falling on top of Harry who had landed just below the now dying beast. The wide-eyed dragon let loose a final roar and fell silent.

Harry could feel stinging as the dragon's blood covered his body, burning where it seeped into his many cuts and scrapes he had earned on his fall. He was too sore and tired from his fall to take notice of the fact he was laying, not on the dirty forest floor, but a large stone floor that was cornered by four great obelisks, one of which had the carcass of the Horntail still dripping blood from atop it.

Harry wiped the blood from his glasses and eyes as best he could and took a look around, just as Hedwig joined him from somewhere above. Around him was nothing but dense and silent forest. There were no animals even making a sound nearby, and the only thing Harry could hear over his breathing was the steady drip of blood still leaking from the dragon.

The alter he had fell into was semi-large, it was roughly the size of McGonagall's chess board. There were what appeared to be an intricate carving of symbols and shapes into the floor. He might have stopped to ponder what they meant...if it hadn't been for the fact they had started to glow.

The blood from the dragon had covered pretty much the entire surface of the alter and the spots the blood had touched had lit up, as if activating something. Immediately dread began to build in the back of Harry's mind.

Harry decided to quickly try to make his exit while he still could. When he reached the edge of the alter, he let out a huge breath as he was knocked backwards. Slowly he stood up, and put his hand towards where the edge should have been, meeting nothing, yet unable to pass.

Beyond the alter, it seemed as if time had stood still. There wasn't even so much as a rustle among the leaves in any of the trees.

Suddenly, Harry could hear a slight rustling behind him. It was soft and delicate sounding as if made by the finest of silks blowing ever so gently in the wind. The hair on the back of his neck started to stand up as an imminent feeling of doom started to wash over him.

Just before he could even decide to turn around and investigate, a bluish tendril of magic had slowly wormed its way out of the, now visible, barrier that had kept him trapped inside. It seemed to bob up and down as if looking at first his chest, and then his head. It did this for a few moments before suddenly, with speed faster than any golden snitch Harry had ever seen, it lunged into his forehead, right where his scar was located.

Pain...for what seemed to be the millionth time in his life. He had known several types and he had to admit, this one was among the worst. It felt as if a piece of his very soul was being ripped away from him. His forehead felt as if it were on fire and ready to burst open. However, just as it was starting, it had ended.

The tendril of magic had pulled back from his head. Taking with it a mass of black that seemed to be screaming, as if in defiance, and held it there. Harry dropped to his knees utterly exhausted. It was only when something spoke from behind him, that he remembered there had been something there.

"It has been quite some time since I was last called here." the voice said. It was a soft, melodious voice; yet also hard and firm. It was but a whisper, but it was easy to hear. It sounded as if it were made up of the whispers of an infinite number of people, all whispering the same thing at once. It also made every single hair on Harry's body stand on end.

Slowly, and full of fear, Harry turned around.

The being behind him was unidentifiable, yet he could tell instantly who it was. The figure was under a pitch black cloak that waved lazily in an invisible wind. Only the hands and face were showing. Harry could make out that the body was skeletal, yet at the same time, the body flashed with an infinite number of looks. It was as if he was a metamorphmagus, only ever inch of his body was turning into a different looking human than the inch beside it, like an infinite number of people melded into one, but never at the same time.

"What is this place?" Harry asked. "Are you the Grim Reaper? Am I dead?"

"This is a place that lost souls come to rest." the hooded figure stated simply. "From time to time, someone living happens upon these grounds intent upon making a sacrifice for my favor. As for who I am, I have been called many names, including the Reaper, or simply Death. I am none of these things, yet all of them as well. Your last question depends on you however."

"How can you be something, yet not be it at the same time?" Harry asked curiously. "And how does it depend on me?"

"I can never die, yet I am not alive. So I am both immortal, and yet not." Death started. "I am both Heaven and Hell, a demon and an angel, purgatory and the afterlife. I am simply what one becomes upon their death. I am made up of the infinite lost souls that have passed from the land of the living to the dead."

"You sound like Dumbledore." Harry muttered, not making much sense of what was being said.

"One day soon, I shall become him as well." Death chuckled. "When one dies, they are sent to me. I absorb their soul and grant them a version of the afterlife that I feel they have earned in life. Everything they have seen or knew in life, I know in death."

"So you are like god?" Harry asked curiously. "And how did you come to exist at all?"

"If there was to be a god, by human standards I would be him." Death sighed. "There is no other being simply looking down, smiling his blessings upon the people of the world. There is only the dead, waiting to claim the next lost soul who has finished his time upon earth.

I was formed much the same way the very earth upon which you stand was created. Each soul started out as an asteroid of sorts, bouncing around endlessly in an vast nothingness. Occasionally they would collide, combining to make an entity just a bit larger. Over time enough have collided to start attracting others to them, eventually becoming the planets you know today."

"So..." Harry began. "There are countless planets out there. Are there more of you?"

"There are." Death explained. "However, the attraction to become one becomes so strong, much live gravity, and the pull is too much to ignore any longer. Most have joined me to become what you see before you...the others escaped through this very portal to live on earth as what you would call a Dementor. They too have their own collection of souls...forever trapped on this plane until their carrier returns home to join the others."

"Wow." Harry whispered, truly in awe of the fact he now probably knew more about death than any other living person. Until his mind remembered just why he knew these things. "You said it depended on me, yet I do not know why you have come or why you were even summoned?"

Death glided over towards the barrier, where the small black mass was still wailing and trying to make a bid for freedom.

"You have made a soul offering." Death said as if that explained everything. "This one goes by the name of Tom Riddle. It is only a small part, and there are of course others that have been hiding from my grasp for many years now. For this you have earned my favor, five times over in fact."

"Five?" Harry asked. "I only brought the one soul to you? And how did he split it into different pieces and hide them from you?"

"Yes, five." Death smiled. "When a piece of destroyed, it is no longer connected to the whole. It simply dies and is sent to me, as another piece has done so already. However, when I hold the piece whole and alive, it is still connected to the others...even if they have been separated and torn beyond repair. There are four others, not counting the man himself, that I can obtain while I visit this world. Although, I do believe he intends to create another before the earth's next cycle around the sun."

"So what five favors do I get?" Harry asked warily. "And this isn't some sort of trick is it?" Harry had had enough lies to last him a lifetime as it was.

"Only one shall be a large favor, I'm afraid." Death smiled to him. "After all, you did only bring me the one piece. It is only because I can now track the other four, that you shall receive four other smaller favors to assist you along with the first.

It is no trick...but it can become a curse if one allows it. Your ancestor Ignotus Peverell was a cautious one as well, and he lived well by the cloak I had gifted him...which currently lies in your pocket. His brothers both joined me shortly after our departure from here. Antioch was gifted with a wand more powerful than any other of its kind. But he was a boastful man. He bragged of his invincibility and death caught up to him in his sleep, in the form of a thief.

Cadmus, the middle brother, lasted a few years longer than his brother, yet he soon joined me as well. He was in love, and tried to reclaim that which had already left this world with a stone to resurrect the dead. But the dead will always be so. When he could not achieve the happiness he sought, he chose to find it in death so as to be with his love once more.

Ignotus, the youngest, kept almost silent about his gift, using it to hide from those who would make him share the same fate as his brothers, including myself. It was many moons later, that he too joined me...albeit willingly and with a smile. It has been over a millennium since I met with the three Peverell brothers, and here you are, their last ancestor. You happen to be the first I have done so since."

"I wish Binn's had been this exciting." Harry mumbled to himself before turning to Death once more. "So...do I get to just pick any favor, or...?"

"Yes...and no." Death began with a smile. "There is little in the world that escapes my notice. There are many, whose reward in death is to oversee the living. Your own mother and father included. I have seen through their eyes your very life, as even know they watch over you, and I know how it is you have came to be so far from civilization in the first place.

Your major reward will be that very reason fulfilled. I shall give you the escape you so desire from this life. This world is not the only one. There are others, worlds where you are not bound by fate. Worlds where you are free to choose your own path. It is to one of these worlds that I shall send you. Of course, you do have the choice to refuse my favor. The soul you have brought just becomes a gift to me."

"Do I have time to think this over?" Harry asked nervously. "And what four favors will help with the first?"

"You have as long as you like," Death grinned. "But take too long and you may yet starve. I will however, tell you of your other favors before you must decide.

First, I will allow you to take the belongings you have with you. Your trunk, your wand, your stolen egg, and even your lovely owl. Second, the world you shall journey too does not know the tongue of man here, any language you know in this world will be transformed into a similar counterpart in the next. Third, the dragon's blood that seeps into your skin and mixes with your blood as we speak, I will allow you too keep it with all of the benefits and none of the risks that go along with it.

There are those, not as many as in times gone by, that also have the blood of dragons in their veins in your new world, so fear not child. And lastly, a new start must come with a new name. I will be giving you the birth-name Hadrian "Harry" James Peverell in your new world to honor your ancestors. The real favor of it is one for me just as much as it is yourself. Your House Crest shall be that of Death itself, with the motto 'The debt that all men pay.' Your house colors will be that of Black and Silver."

"What benefits is there to having dragon's blood?" Harry asked. "Why would I need it?"

"The very magic of this world is tied to dragons." Death answered simply. "While magic does still exist there, it is very weak as the Dragon's blood is only alive in the veins of a small number. This is also why you shall need your stolen egg child. When it hatches, magic will once again be reborn upon the world. So long as Dragon's live in The Known World, so will magic. As the father of dragons, you will also be impervious to fire as those that have come before you have been as well. So remember to cherish your gifts and protect them. Do you have your decision child?"

Harry turned to his faithful companion. The one who he knew would never turn on him or lead him wrong. "What do you think Hedwig? Do you think we should do it girl?" he asked the owl on his shoulder.

Hedwig looked from him to Death and narrowed her eyes at him, as if trying to detect any trickery. After a few second she turned back to Harry and bobbed her head up and down and hooted her acceptance of the offer.

"I will do it." Harry said filled with both dread and excitement at the prospect of the unknown.

Death nodded his head and turned back towards where he had entered the alter. He waved his skeletal hand towards the nothingness that was there and slowly something began to appear.

Suddenly, there was a raised stone dais in the center of the alter, on which stood a stone archway that looked so ancient, cracked and crumbling that Harry was amazed the thing was still standing. Unsupported by any surrounding wall, the archway was hung with a tattered black curtain or veil which, despite the complete stillness of the cold surrounding air, was fluttering very slightly as though it had just been touched.

There were faint whispering, murmuring noises coming from the other side of the veil, and Harry thought the archway had a kind of beauty about it, old though it was. The gently rippling veil intrigued him; he felt a very strong inclination to climb up on the dais and walk through it.

"Can you feel it's call?" Death asked curiously. "Not everyone can. Your ministry had stolen my veil many moons ago, but all things belong to Death and unto him will they eventually return. This time you should answer it's call, child. Your new life awaits you on the other side."

Harry slowly walked up the the edge of the veil and slowly ran his fingertips over the soft velvety surface. "Any advice for me?" Harry asked ruefully to the cloaked figure behind him.

"War happens in every world child, even this one." Death began as Harry's fingers seemed to be stuck in the veil, pulling him in deeper. Oddly enough, Harry held no fear about it. It had felt right to him. "Everyone must choose a side, and remember, when you are called upon to play the Game of Thrones, you are free to choose the side of your own making."

Those were the last words Harry heard from Death as he was sucked into the veil completely and devoured by the darkness. His last thoughts before he blacked out were, "What the blood hell is the Game of Thrones?"


	12. Wolf Harry - Part 1

**AN: Another one of my earlier pieces of writing. This one is a Harry/Harem story; In an alternate universe with his other self being female. Rated M for Mature. This has 4 parts, the last being unfinished, but I decided to post them here regardlessly.  
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><p>"NOW!" yelled Harry.<p>

Five different voices behind him bellowed, "REDUCTO!" Five curses flew in five different directions and the shelves opposite them exploded as they hit; the towering structure swayed as a hundred glass spheres burst apart, pearly-white figures unfurled into the air and floated there, their voices echoing from who knew what long-dead past amid the torrent of crashing glass and splintered wood now raining down upon the floor.

"RUN!" Harry yelled, as the shelves swayed precariously and more glass spheres began to fall from above. He seized a handful of Hermione's robes and dragged her forwards, holding one arm over his head as chunks of shelf and shards of glass thundered down upon them. A Death Eater lunged forwards through the cloud of dust and Harry elbowed him hard in the masked face; they were all yelling, there were cries of pain, and thunderous crashes as the shelves collapsed upon themselves, weirdly echoing fragments of the Seers unleashed from their spheres.

Harry found the way ahead clear and saw Ron, Ginny and Luna sprint past him, their arms over their heads; something heavy struck him on the side of the face but he merely ducked his head and sprinted onwards; a hand caught him by the shoulder; he: heard Hermione shout, "Stupefy!" The hand released him at once.

They were at the end of row ninety-seven; Harry turned right and began to sprint in earnest; he could hear footsteps right behind him and Hermione's voice urging Neville on; straight ahead, the door through which they had come was ajar; Harry could see the glittering light of the bell jar; he pelted through the doorway, the prophecy still clutched tight and safe in his hand, and waited for the others to hurtle over the threshold before slamming the door behind them.

"Colloportus!" gasped Hermione and the door sealed itself with an odd squelching noise.

"Where - where are the others?" gasped Harry.

He had thought Ron, Luna and Ginny were ahead of them, that they would be waiting in this room, but there was nobody there.

"They must have gone the wrong way!" whispered Hermione, terror in her face.

"Listen!" whispered Neville.

Footsteps and shouts echoed from behind the door they had just sealed; Harry put his ear close to the door to listen and heard Lucius Malfoy roar, "Leave Nott, leave him, I say - his injuries will be nothing to the Dark Lord compared to losing that prophecy. Jugson, come back here, we need to organise! We'll split into pairs and search, and don't forget, be gentle with Potter until we've got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary. Bellatrix, Rodolphus, you take the left; Crabbe, Rabastan, go right. Jugson, Dolohov, the door straight ahead - Macnair and Avery, through here - Rookwood, over there - Mulciber, come with me!"

"What do we do?" Hermione asked Harry, trembling from head to foot.

"Well, we don't stand here waiting for them to find us, for a start," said Harry. "Let's get away from this door."

They ran as quietly as they could, past the shimmering bell jar where the tiny egg was hatching and unhatching, towards the exit into the circular hallway at the far end of the room. They were almost there when Harry heard something large and heavy collide with the door Hermione had charmed shut.

"Stand aside!" said a rough voice. "Alohomora!"

As the door flew open, Harry, Hermione and Neville dived under desks. They could see the bottom of the two Death Eaters' robes drawing nearer, their feet moving rapidly.

"They might've run straight through to the hall." said the rough voice.

"Check under the desks." said another.

Harry saw the knees of the Death Eaters bend; poking his wand out from under the desk, he shouted, "STUPEFY!"

A jet of red light hit the nearest Death Eater; he fell backwards into a grandfather clock and knocked it over; the second Death Eater, however, had leapt aside to avoid Harry's spell and was pointing his own wand at Hermione, who was crawling out from under the desk to get a better aim.

"Avada –"

Harry launched himself across the floor and grabbed the Death Eater around the knees, causing him to topple and his aim to go awry. Neville overturned a desk in his anxiety to help; and pointing his wand wildly at the struggling pair, he cried, "EXPELLIARMUS!"

Both Harry's and the Death Eater's wands flew out of their hands and soared back towards the entrance to the Hall of Prophecy; both scrambled to their feet and charged after them, the Death Eater in front, Harry hot on his heels, and Neville bringing up the rear, plainly horror-struck by what he had done.

"Get out of the way, Harry!" yelled Neville, clearly determined to repair the damage.

Harry flung himself sideways as Neville took aim again and shouted, "STUPEFY!"

The jet of red light flew right over the Death Eaters shoulder and hit a glass-fronted cabinet on the wall full of variously shaped hour-glasses; the cabinet fell to the floor and burst apart, glass flying everywhere, sprang back up on to the wall, fully mended, then fell down again, and shattered…

The Death Eater had snatched up his wand, which lay on the floor beside the glittering bell jar. Harry ducked down behind another desk as the man turned; his mask had slipped so that he couldn't see. He ripped it off with his free hand and shouted, "STUP-"

"STUPEFY!" screamed Hermione, who had just caught up with them. The jet of red light hit the Death Eater in the middle of his chest: he froze, his arm still raised, his wand fell to the floor with a flatter and he collapsed backwards towards the bell jar. Harry expected to hear a clunk, for the man to hit solid glass and slide off the jar on to the floor, but instead, his head sank through the surface of the bell jar as though it were nothing but a soap bubble and he came to rest, sprawled on his back on the table, with his head lying inside the jar full of glittering wind.

"Accio wand!" cried Hermione. Harry's wand flew from a dark corner into her hand and she threw it to him.

"Thanks," he said. "Right, let's get out of…"

"Look out!" said Neville, horrified. He was staring at the Deati Eater's head in the bell jar.

All three of them raised their wands again, but none of them struck: they were all gazing, open-mouthed, appalled, at what was happening to the man's head.

It was shrinking very fast, growing balder and balder, the black hair and stubble retracting into his skull; his cheeks becoming smooth, his skull round and covered with a peachlike fuzz . . .

A baby's head now sat grotesquely on top of the thick, muscled neck of the Death Eater as he struggled to get up again; but even as they watched, their mouths open, the head began to swell to its previous proportions again; thick black hair was sprouting from the pate and chin . . .

"It's Time," said Hermione in an awestruck voice.

The Death Eater shook his ugly head again, trying to clear it, but before he could pull himself together it began to shrink back to babyhood once more . . .

There was a shout from a room nearby, then a crash and a scream.

"RON?" Harry yelled, turning quickly from the monstrous transformation taking place before them. "GINNY? LUNA?"

"Harry!" Hermione screamed.

The Death Eater had pulled his head out of the bell jar. His appearance was utterly bizarre, his tiny baby's head bawling loudly while his thick arms flailed dangerously in all directions, narrowly missing Harry, who had ducked. Harry raised his wand but to his amazement Hermione seized his arm.

"You can't hurt a baby!"

There was no time to argue the point; Harry could hear more footsteps growing louder from the Hall of Prophecy and knew, too late, that he ought not to have shouted and given away their position.

"Come on!" he said, and leaving the ugly baby-headed Death Eater staggering behind them they took off for the door that stood open at the other end of the room, leading back into the black hallway.

They had run halfway towards it when Harry saw through the open door two more Death Eaters running across the black room towards them; veering left, he burst instead into a small, dark, cluttered office and slammed the door behind them.

"Collo.." began Hermione, but before she could complete the spell the door had burst open and the two Death Eaters had come hurtling inside.

With a cry of triumph, both yelled, "IMPEDIMENTA."

Harry, Hermione and Neville were all knocked backwards off their feet; Neville was thrown over the desk and disappeared from view; Hermione smashed into a bookcase and was promptly deluged in a cascade of heavy books; the back of Harry's head slammed into the stone wall behind him, tiny lights burst in front of his eyes and for a moment he was too dizzy and bewildered to react.

"WE'VE GOT HIM!" yelled the Death Eater nearest Harry. "IN AN OFFICE OFF…"

"Silencio!" cried Hermione and the man's voice was extinguished. He continued to mouth through the hole in his mask, but no sound came out. He was thrust aside by his fellow Death Eater.

"Petrificus Totalus!" shouted Harry, as the second Death Eater raised his wand. His arms and legs snapped together and he fell forwards, face down on to the rug at Harry's feet, stiff as a board and unable to move.

"Well done, Har…"

But the Death Eater Hermione had just struck dumb made a sudden slashing movement with his wand; a streak of what looked like purple flame passed right across Hermione's chest. She gave a tiny "Oh!" as though of surprise and crumpled on to the floor, where she lay motionless.

"HERMIONE!"

Harry fell to his knees beside her as Neville crawled rapidly towards her from under the desk, his wand held up in front of him. The Death Eater kicked out hard at Neville's head as he emerged - his foot broke Neville's wand in two and connected with his face. Neville gave a howl of pain and recoiled, clutching his mouth and nose. Harry twisted around, his own wand held high, and saw that the Death Eater had ripped off his mask and was pointing his wand directly at Harry, who recognised the long, pale, twisted face from the Daily Prophet: Antonin Dolohov, the wizard who had murdered the Prewetts.

Dolohov grinned. With his free hand, he pointed from the prophecy still clutched in Harry's hand, to himself, then at Hermione. Though he could no longer speak, his meaning could not have been clearer. Give me the prophecy, or you get the same as her . . .

"Like you won't kill us all anyway, the moment I hand it over!" said Harry.

A whine of panic inside his head was preventing him thinking properly: he had one hand on Hermione's shoulder, which was still warm, yet did not dare look at her properly. Don't let her be dead, don't let her be dead, it's my fault if she's dead . . .

"Whaddever you do, Harry," said Neville fiercely from under the desk, lowering his hands to show a clearly broken nose and blood pouring down his mouth and chin, "don'd gib it to him!"

Then there was a crash outside the door and Dolohov looked over his shoulder - the baby-headed Death Eater had appeared in the doorway, his head bawling, his great fists still flailing uncontrollably at everything around him. Harry seized his chance, "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"

The spell hit Dolohov before he could block it and he toppled forwards across his comrade, both of them rigid as boards and unable to move an inch.

"Hermione," Harry said at once, shaking her as the baby-headed Death Eater blundered out of sight again. "Hermione, wake up!"

"Whaddid he do to her?" said Neville, crawling out from under the desk to kneel at her other side, blood streaming from his rapidly swelling nose.

"I dunno…"

Neville groped for Hermione's wrist.

"Dat's a pulse, Harry, I'b sure id is."

Such a powerful wave of relief swept through Harry that for a moment he felt light-headed. "She's alive?"

"Yeah, I dink so."

There was a pause in which Harry listened hard for the sound of more footsteps, but all he could hear were the whimpers and blunderings of the baby-headed Death Eater in the next room.

"Neville, we're not far from the exit," Harry whispered, "we're right next to that circular room…if we can just get you across it and find the right: door before any more Death Eaters come, I'll bet you can get Hermione up the corridor and into the lift…then you could find someone…raise the alarm."

"And whad are you going do do?" said Neville, mopping his bleeding nose with his sleeve and frowning at Harry.

"I've got to find the others." said Harry.

"Well, I'b going do find dem wid you," said Neville firmly.

"But Hermione…"

"We'll dake her wid us," said Neville firmly. "I'll carry her. You're bedder at fighding dem dan I ab."

He stood up and seized one of Hermione's arms, glaring at Harry, who hesitated, then grabbed the other and helped hoist Hermione's limp form over Neville's shoulders.

"Wait," said Harry, snatching up Hermione's wand from the floor and shoving it into Neville's hand. "You'd better take this."

Neville kicked aside the broken fragments of his own wand as they walked slowly towards the door.

"My gran's going do kill be," said Neville thickly, blood spattering from his nose as he spoke, "dat was by dad's old wand."

Harry stuck his head out of the door and looked around cautiously. The baby-headed Death Eater was screaming and banging into things, toppling grandfather clocks and overturning desks, bawling and confused, while the glass-fronted cabinet that Harry now suspected had contained Time-Turners continued to fall, shatter and repair itself on the wall behind them.

"He's never going to notice us," he whispered. "C'mon…keep close behind me…"

They never even got to take their next step before another Death Eater came barreling around the corner.

"Reducto!" the Death Eater shouted.

Harry had just enough time to push Neville and Hermione away from him as the curse hit him squarely in the shoulder throwing him across the room. Unfortunately he just happen to land where the glass cabinet containing the Time-Turners happened to be falling.

As soon as the glass cabinet exploded over top of him he was rained upon with hundreds of Time-Turners that each shattered upon making contact with him. He had just enough time to see the terrified look on Neville's face before he felt the familiar pull of him being dragged back through time. However, this time it felt slightly different, as if he was not only being dragged backwards, but also sideways as well…

After a few minutes of watching what appeared to be the last two years of his life flash backwards before his eyes, he felt a lurch as he was literally thrown sideways through time and space. He knew immediately that something bad, that only his luck could produce, had happened.

The lurch had thrown him onto the ground and it took him a second to gather his bearings. He was in a place that looked slightly familiar and it took him a moment to recognize where he was, even if he didn't know when he was. He was close to the spot him and Hermione had waited in the Forbidden forest the night they had used her Time-Turner.

Harry raised a hand to his injured shoulder to stop the blooding and started making his way out of the forest, headed in the direction of the castle as quietly as he could, when he saw a sight that made him freeze completely.

He figured that he must have went back in time two years, because he could just make out Hermione and himself waiting with Buckbeak still tied to the tree that he had tied him too after freeing him that fateful night. There was only one major problem with the scene however. He saw Hermione, but where he should have been standing wasn't another version of himself. In his place was a gorgeous black-haired, green-eyed girl. Through the fog that his mind was suffering due to his confusion he just managed to hear what they were saying…

"Rose," Hermione muttered as though she knew exactly what the other girl was thinking, "we've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do..."

"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again!? said Rose quietly with some heat.

"How do you expect to find a rat in the dark?" snapped Hermione. "There's nothing we can do! We came back to help Sirius; we're not supposed to be doing anything else!"

"All right!" she snapped.

The moon slid out from behind its cloud. Harry saw the tiny figures across the grounds stop. Then he saw movement…

"There goes Lupin," Hermione whispered. "He's transforming…"

"Hermione!" said the girl, Rose, suddenly. "We've got to move!"

"We mustn't, I keep telling you…"

"Not to interfere, I know! Lupin's going to run into the forest, right at us!"

Hermione gasped. "Quick!" she moaned, dashing to untie Buckbeak. "Quick! Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The dementors will be coming any moment…"

"Back to Hagrid's!" Rose said. "It's empty now…come on!"

Harry was still in such shock that he completely failed to understand the warning in their words. Only when he heard a loud howl and the growl of Lupin closing in on him did he finally realize the danger he was in. Harry had just enough time to pull his wand before he was being barreled over sideways by Lupin's werewolf form.

Harry cried out in pain as Lupin bit him in the crook between his neck and shoulder. As the pain and weariness started to set in, he had just enough willpower in him to fire off a quick "Bombarda!" blasting the werewolf hard in the chest. Harry could have sworn that he heard quite a few ribs breaking, but he didn't worry about that. He only cared that his spell had the desired effect, and the werewolf immediately ran off howling in pain.

Harry tried to stand up while holding a hand to his injured neck, but the venom was already well on its way to running its course and he stumbled back down to the ground. Just when he was about to give up all hope that he would survive the incident, another Potter only moment started to take effect.

The phoenix tears that had been in his system for over three years, fighting off the basilisk venom, realized that an even greater threat was being posed to the body whose veins it inhabited. It immediately abandoned the fight against the venom to start fighting this new threat.

The basilisk venom, realizing it had a once in a lifetime opportunity, immediately began to spread once more through Harry's body. Fortunately for Harry, the first major place it started attacking just happened to be in his legendary scar.

The soul shard of Voldemort inside of Harry's scar realized just in time that it too was under attack and tried the only avenue it had to save itself. It started to attack Harry's mind and soul to try and take over as the new host. Black ichor started oozing out from Harry's scar and started to slither its way into his wound and through his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears.

Fortunately for Harry, his magic and own soul realized that the chances of it surviving the massive battle that was being waged inside of its body unscathed was slim to none if it did not act soon. His soul and magic combined and immediately set out to collect its only ally in the fight…the phoenix tears. Once the three had merged it went to fight the most non-lethal invader first…the werewolf venom. The werewolf venom, however, was impossible to cure and even harder to kill. Realizing that; his soul, magic, and the phoenix tears decided that if it couldn't beat it, it would join it.

The four components mixed together started a never-before-seen chain reaction. Harry's body started to grow and spout hair. His arms and legs bent, grew, and hunched over and started to shape into legs of a very large wolf. Harry's body and torso soon followed suit. Harry could feel the personality of the wolf form and start to merge with his own mind.

However, the war raging on inside of him was far from over. As the phoenix tears started to make their way into the transformation, the whites of Harry's eyes started to turn translucent with his emerald iris's glowing even brighter, and he could feel the healing properties in the tears that were forcing their way down his face onto his muzzle.

As his body started to conquer the basilisk venom, he could feel it being absorbed into his jawline where venom sacks were starting to form in his jaw and his canine's sharpened and slightly elongated more than normal.

By now Harry was on the brink of exhaustion but there was still one more threat to him that had to be taken care of. As Harry's body started to attack the piece of Voldemort's soul, it realized that it was losing the fight and decided to try and flee. Harry's soul had other ideas and reached out and latched onto the soul shard and started pulling it back in. The piece of Voldemort's soul let out an ear-piercing shriek as it was torn apart systematically piece by piece, changed, and absorbed into Harry's own soul.

Harry's mind was immediately bombarded by decade's worth of knowledge and memories from Voldemort's entire life. Every memory, every spell, and every secret that Voldemort possessed was now flowing through Harry's own mind as his own.

Next came Voldemort's innate abilities. Parseltongue, Voldemort's snake animagus, and mage sight were all absorbed into Harry's mind.

Last but not least was Voldemort's personality. It too like the wolf was merged with Harry's mind, warping and changing it as the wolf had done. Each entity brought with it its own strengths and the weaknesses of each were thrown out. Harry's personality was infused with the protectiveness and desire to build a family from the wolf, and he was filled with the drive and determination to use ANY means to achieve his goals and protect his loved ones.

As the ichor cleared from his eyes and the transformation from human to wolf were complete, Harry had just enough time to drag himself to the frozen lake's edge to check his new appearance.

Harry was scared that he would now share the looks of a true werewolf but was pleasantly surprised when he caught a look at his reflection. His eyes were completely transparent, like an orb of clear water floating in his sockets; except for his iris's. His once emerald green was still there, even brighter than before and they had an eerie glow to them. The tears that he knew held the same powers as the tears of a phoenix, were no longer flowing down his face.

As for being a wolf he looked like a regular wolf only three to four times as large. He must have stood four to five foot tall and easily seven feet in length. His fur was deep midnight black and was dark enough to make it seem as if all light was trapped in his fur, never to be released.

"For once I'm glad that I don't do normal!" Harry said to himself as his body started to shift back to human, glad that he was not a typical werewolf. The last thing he saw before darkness overtook his vision was the bright light of a doe Patronus charging across the frozen lake towards the horde of dementors, which until now, Harry had failed to even notice.


	13. Wolf Harry - Part 2

Harry awoke to the sounds of yelling.

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU CAN'T APPARATE OR DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS - HAS - SOMETHING - TO - DO - WITH - POTTER!"

"Severus - be reasonable - Rose has been locked up -"

BAM. The door of the hospital wing burst open. Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he was quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry. But Snape was beside himself.

"OUT WITH IT, POTTER!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Professor Snape!" shrieked Madam Pomfrey. "Control yourself!"

"See here, Snape, be reasonable," said Fudge. "This door's been locked, we just saw -"

"THEY HELPED HIM ESCAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at Rose and Hermione. His face was twisted; spit was flying from his mouth. Apparently nobody was even paying Harry attention at the moment. Of course Harry was still enjoying the show. It wasn't everyday you got to watch Snape's chances at an Order of Merlin go out the window.

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!" shrieked Snape. "SHE DID IT, I KNOW SHE DID IT -"

"That will do, Severus," said Dumbledore quietly. "Think about what you are saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward ten minutes ago. Madam Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not!" said Madam Pomfrey, bristling. "I would have heard them!"

"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that Rose and Hermione are able to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked thoroughly shocked at his behavior, to Dumbledore, whose eyes were twinkling behind his glasses. Snape whirled about, robes swishing behind him, and stormed out of the ward.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced," said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore quietly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

"He's not the only one!" puffed Fudge. "The Daily Prophet's going to have a field day! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again! All it needs now is for the story of that hippogriff's escape to get out, and I'll be a laughingstock! Well... I'd better go and notify the Ministry...

"And the dementors?" said Dumbledore. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh yes, they'll have to go," said Fudge, running his fingers distractedly through his hair. "Never dreamed they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on an innocent girl... Completely out of control... no, I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight... Perhaps we should think about dragons at the school entrance..."

"Hagrid would like that," said Dumbledore, smiling at Rose and Hermione. As Fudge left the dormitory, Madam Pomfrey hurried to the door and locked it again. Muttering angrily to herself, she headed back to her office.

There was a low moan from the other end of the ward. Ron had woken up. They could see him sitting up, rubbing his head, looking around.

"What - what happened?" he groaned. "Rose? Hermione? Why are we in here? Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin? What's going on?"

"Patience young Ronald. They will be fine, but for now it seems Miss Potter and Miss Granger happened upon an unexpected visitor near the black lake only a short while ago." Albus spoke up with his patented grandfatherly look and twinkle in his eye, effectively ending his conversation about Sirius while an unknown person was in the room.

Harry of course saw the headmasters look and couldn't help but give a chuckle. "Albus I do believe that twinkle in your eyes is as constant as death itself. It's good to know some things haven't changed."

Albus couldn't help but smile at his accusation. He was proud of his grandfatherly look and it had taken him many years to perfect it. "I do believe you have me at a disadvantage. You are apparently aware of who I am, but I am finding myself at a loss as to who you are."

Harry couldn't help but laugh now. "I don't believe there are many in the magical world who DON'T know who Albus Dumbledore is. As for myself, my name is Harry."

"Well Harry I must say it is a surprise to meet you, however, it is not an unwelcome one. Perhaps you could tell us your last name?" Albus asked. The boy, or young man, that sat before him could almost pass as a Potter, he even had eyes that matched only two others that he had seen, but he also looked like he could easily pass for a Black, and even reminded him a bit of a young Tom Riddle, but had that same almost feral look that a young Remus Lupin used to carry.

His hair was midnight black and went down almost to his shoulders in lightly wavy locks, long enough to tie back into a very short ponytail if he so wished. His eyes however, were almost a dead match for Rose and her late mother, Lily. His face had a pointed, aristocratic look to it. The young man, Harry as he said his name was, was about six feet in height and had a lean athletic build, and Albus could just make out his wiry muscles, that were wound tightly under his skin, through his rather loose clothing. Overall, he knew that this young man would be a lady killer.

"I can…" Harry said hesitating, looking over to the other three teens who were staring at him. One had a jealous look and the other two appeared to have a look in their eyes that an experienced person could identify as lust. "But perhaps this would be a conversation best left for a more private venue?"

"Of course, my boy. However, I am afraid you will have to wait for a little while longer as Madam Pomfrey would have my hide if I were to ferry you away from her care."

Dumbledore turned now to Rose. "I trust you can escort our guest to my office when Madam Pomfrey sees fit to release the two of you?"

"Of course, headmaster!" Rose responded, still not taking her eyes off of the newcomer.

Not much was said over the next hour that Harry waited for the matron to release him from her ward, even if he did keep his eyes on, what he assumed, was his female self. When he first awoke his head was a huge jumbled mess of memories and knowledge from Voldemort, so he spent a large portion of the time he lay in bed trying to sort through them. Some of the things that Harry was able to find would have scared the old him.

Wanting to know why Voldemort did not die when he was a baby was the first thing he searched for in his new memories, and the knowledge of Horcruxes and their supposed locations all came to the forefront of his mind.

Spells, dueling knowledge and tactics, and other obscure magical knowledge from decades of grueling training and studying was now all at his fingertips. It was almost overwhelming for the soon to be sixteen year old wizard, but having your personality combined with a deranged madman, and the personality of a wolf will toughen most people up quickly.

Speaking of wolf, Harry was having a hard time with that part of his personality. From the moment he awoke, the wolf in him had been screaming for him to mate the two girls in the room with him. While Harry didn't have a problem with it, it seemed as if they would have to compromise with the personality from Voldemort.

Harry guessed he should stop calling it Voldemort's personality as it was now his as well, but it was going to take some getting used to. Any way you look at it however, the new side of him did not want to mate with just any woman, he wanted its mates to be more than just a pretty face, he wanted there to be a something to gain by their union.

It didn't take long before a plan started to form in his head that would satisfy all three, turned one new one, personalities to reach a decision. There were dozens of rich families that had only female heirs. He would mate the daughters, all of them if they had more than one to keep the head of the family from changing heirs to foil his plan. If that family just happened to be a supporter of Voldemort then he would just take out the head of the family to gain the fortune that much quicker.

That part of the plan would satisfy his new need to have great gains from the matings, in order to satisfy Harry's original personality he would of course treat the girls as queens and show them the love he had always wanted from family, and of course the wolf in him would not be happy with merely one or two girls. He was now the first and only of his kind and it was up to him to make sure that his new line prospered and to make sure it did not end he would need many mates. Harry had every intention of taking the family fortunes for himself and his girls, some sooner than others.

He started to form a list of girls that would meet the criteria. They had to have no male siblings, come from a very rich family, and of course the girls had to be good looking. Personality didn't matter quite as much as once they were mated, their lupin side would turn a bit more submissive towards their alpha male. The first person to make his list was the girl he had taken to staring at for much of the last hour.

Rose Potter...or the female version of himself as he had taken to calling her in his head once or twice. While she had the same color hair, albeit longer than his reaching down to the middle of her back, the same color eyes, she was the one thing he hoped to never be able to pull off...she was a woman...and a very attractive one if his opinion of the matter actually mattered, which he reminded himself it did very much. Although he did notice that she was slightly on the thin side, which he figured was from almost 13 years at the Dursley's.

She was still a month or so shy of 14, but she was well on her way to developing in all the area's that made Harry's blood pump faster through his veins. Had he more knowledge on the female anatomy, he would have known that she had C-cups that were being hidden by her school robes, and a nicely shaped behind.

Finally he was brought out of his planning by Madam Pomfrey giving him and his future Alpha female, albeit she did not yet know it, the all clear to leave.

"Umm...Harry right?" Rose asked him. She continued at his nod. "If you are ready, I can...um...i can take you to the headmaster's office now."

He noticed how nervous she seemed to be, admittedly he was a complete stranger, so he decided to help her along with a half-cocky crooked smile. "Well please do lead the way, my dear!" he said brightly, extending his elbow for her to take, which she did with only a slight hesitation and blush.

Harry of course knew very well where the headmasters office was located, but she didn't seem to even notice that it was actually him that was leading her. He noticed that she seemed to want to ask him something but didn't appear to have the nerve to do it. Deciding to help her lighten the tension he broke the ice. "You know you can ask whatever question it is that you have stuck in your mind. I wont bite you know...well unless you want me too." he added with a wink that made her blush again.

"It's just that..." she hesitated before continuing. There were almost to the gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office. "Your eyes...that look so much like mine. Are you...are we related by any chance?"

Harry gently pulled her to a stop and lightly pushed her up against the wall, the two of them touching almost chest to chest. "We are not related exactly." he whispered in her ear. His breath sending pleasurable shivers down her body. "But that doesn't mean we aren't connected to each other. There will come a time when I will tell you everything about me, but that time is not now."

"When...when will I see you again? Are you planning on c…coming to school here?" she asked breathlessly, her eyes closed tightly to keep the lust from shining through them.

"Oh yes, we will see each other again soon. In fact it will be much sooner than you realize." Harry pushed in closer to her, their bodies now flush against each other. He could feel her chest heaving heavily into his own as he moved his mouth closer to her ear so she could be the only possible person to hear him.

"I know what kind of hell you have lived through at number 4, better than anyone could possibly understand." he whispered to her, their cheeks touching as his breath tickled her ear. "Soon, very soon, your wish will be granted. I can only guess at the number of nights you fell asleep in that damned cupboard, bruised, hungry, and beaten; wishing that someone would come and save you from that life."

Fear started to seep in through the cloud of lust that had been dominating Rose. Not fear of Harry, but fear that he might pity or even be shameful to know her since he somehow knew of her less than pleasant past. Thankfully his next words helped to push that fear away. "You will not have to suffer much longer with those monsters. I will do what Dumbledore and Figg should have done years ago. I will take you away from them, and never again shall another hand lay a finger on you, less their arms be ripped from their shoulders."

"Never again shall that walrus of a man or horse-faced woman starve you or lay siege on your mind with spiteful words. Just give me the word and the same stomach's that would be filled whiles yours went without, would be torn from their bodies. The same tongues that would call such beauty and perfection a freak will be cut from their mouths. Never again shall you be treated as anything less than a goddess!" Harry's blood was starting to boil just thinking about what the two of them had to suffer, while nobody would lift a finger to help them.

Rose was him and he was her, but most importantly in Harry's mind was that she was his! Harry knew that one day soon she would give herself willingly to him, as he would not rest until that day came.

"How...how do...you know these things?" she asked breathlessly as Harry gave a light nibble to her ear.

"There will come a day where I will ask you a question. If you answer yes, I will tell you everything you want to know about me. For now however, you will have to settle for this." Harry wouldn't tell her everything just yet, but giving her a bit of food for thought would hopefully get her mind going in the directions that he needed it to be going. "Your parents are my parents, your life has been my life, you are me and I am you. I know you better than anybody could ever possibly understand. We are two halves of the same whole, and we were made for each other. And together is where we shall be for all of eternity!"

Harry had been kissing the side of her neck in between each sentence, and he would be surprised if she was even able to pay attention to the last bit of what he was saying. Not wanting to slip and give away anymore in an unsecured hallway, he decided to cut their meeting short. He noticed she was panting slightly and had a bead of sweat running down her neck. He decided to be a bit bolder and stole a chaste kiss from her, lightly nibbling on her lower lip before he pulled away and quickly made his way to the staircase to Dumbledore's office, which was thankfully open and waiting.

Just before Harry entered the rising stairwell, Rose finally found her voice. "Wait! I never did catch your last name?"

Harry smirked at her for a second before he decided to give her an answer. She had clearly not yet caught onto the fact that they were the same person, but he was being quite distractful to her at the time. "In another world and another time, I went by the same name as you. I was, like you, the last Potter." he frowned for a moment before he continued in a much more depressing tone. "In this world I reckon I no longer have a name."

Before she could say another word, Harry turned and hurriedly made his way up the steps before knocking on the door to the headmasters office.

"Enter." Harry heard Dumbledore call cheerfully from the other side of the door. Harry stilled himself and pulled himself up to his full height, looking for the all world a perfect pureblood heir. "Ah, Harry...So glad to see Madam Pomfrey has found nothing wrong with you."

"Good evening Albus." Harry said taking a seat opposite from Dumbledore. "I must say, I have never much enjoyed spending time under her wonderful care."

"Lemon Drop?" Albus asked stalling for time. He knew that Harry had intentionally dropped that last clue. However, he couldn't recall the young man ever attending Hogwarts, nevertheless spending much time in the hospital wing.

One of the thousands of Voldemort's memories floating through Harry's mind was one from where a young Tom Riddle took the offered Lemon Drop just to confirm his suspicions that they were laced with something. Of course he had been correct, but it was only a mild calming drought. "Thank you Albus." Harry responded as he popped the yellow candy into his mouth. Instantly feeling slightly more at east, not that he had been feeling edgy to begin with.

"So Harry..." Albus said, steepling his fingers underneath his chin. "You seem to be very aware of certain things that someone who did not attend Hogwarts should not be aware of. Alas, as far as I am aware, you have never attended this fine institution, and therefore I find myself confused that you could have ever been under the matron's mercies?"

Harry knew that Dumbledore would catch on to his little 'slip'. Of course he had let it slip on purpose to try and throw Dumbledore off kilter just a bit. Of course, Harry knew that if you gave Dumbledore an inch, he would talk you around every subject known to man for a mile. And usually you would leave with more questions than answers. Harry decided to force Dumbledore's hand and get straight to the point. "I am sure you are desperately wanting answers as to who I am and why I showed up on the banks of the Black Lake last night."

Harry sucked on the lemon candy for a second as if to organize his thoughts before continuing. Dumbledore had yet to say a word, but Harry could tell he was hanging on to every word. "I will make you a deal Albus. In exchange for all of the information you want to know; my plans, who I am, and I will also give you the one thing you would die to know. However, in exchange I want you to first send Fawkes to bring Sirius Black here, then I will need an unbreakable vow from the pair of you that you will keep all that is said here tonight between the three of us, and also that neither of you will try to interfere with my plans."

Harry knew that Albus wouldn't just accept without more information than that and was unsurprised at his response. "You ask much of me young Harry. I unfortunately know nothing about you and for all I know your plans could be of a darker nature. On top of that, you did not really give much information on what it was you would be giving me in return."

If Dumbledore was surprised about Harry asking for Sirius, he had neither mentioned it nor let on that he was. "I assure you that my plans are nothing too nefarious. As for what I am offering..." Harry paused to draw out the suspense and even helped himself to another lemon candy. "In exchange I will give you, in exact detail, the road to kill Voldemort once and for all."

Harry smirked as he saw the miniscule widening of Dumbledore's eyes, before he calmed himself. "And would I be correct in assuming that you will only part with that information if I agree with your demands?"

At Harry's nod, he continued. "What guarantee do I have of your plans? I mean no offense of course, but for all I know you could be planning to assume Voldemort's role as the next dark lord."

Harry couldn't help but let loose a chuckle. "You have no guarantee other than my word of course. However, I assure you I have no interests in ruling the world. I merely wish the make a family for myself, while acquiring the means to provide for them."

"So your plans are merely to find a family and obtain wealth?" Dumbledore asked.

"In a roundabout way. My way of doing so might not be the path you would choose for yourself, however, I see no reason why it should be a detriment to society." Harry waited while Dumbledore pulled over a sheet of parchment and scribbled out a quick note. He rolled the note and tied it to Fawkes' leg before whispering in the bird's ear and Fawkes took off.

"If anyone can find Sirius it would be Fawkes." Albus said as a way of explanation.

Not wanting to sit in uncomfortable silence Harry spoke. "I suppose the best way to tell this story would be to show it to the both of you. Perhaps you can fetch your pensieve and I'll put in a few memories for you two to watch."

Albus just nodded his head, still deep in thought, and made his way to the cabinet where he kept his pensieve. He was definitely worried that he was going to make the wrong choice, but if there was a chance that Tom could be defeated for good, and save hundreds if not thousands of lives in the process, then it was a choice he had no choice but to make.

Albus watched as Harry pulled memories out from his temple, placing them in the pensieve, for almost ten minutes before there was a bright flash, signaling Fawkes returning, returning with him was a still ragged looking Sirius. "Albus, I haven't been gone for a day yet. What could possibly..." Sirius stopped abruptly upon spotting Harry.

"Sirius, meet Harry. Harry, Sirius. Well I guess you know who he is as you are the one who asked for him." Albus said introducing the two men.

"Albus, whats going on?" asked a confused Sirius, staring at what appeared to be an almost exact copy of James, minus the eyes...Lily's eyes.

It was Harry who answered. "Everything will be explained when the three of us take a trip down memory lane...my memories to be exact."

"Shall we Sirius?" Dumbledore asked as the three made their way to the pensieve before they all touched a finger to the silvery substance before being pulled down into Harry's memories.

_The three touched down in the living room of Number 4, where a five year old Harry had just asked about his parents. The trio watched as Harry was punished for 'asking questions' before being told how his parents were drunkards who got themselves killed in a car crash. That memory ended with Harry being thrown into the cupboard. On and on the memories of Harry bring treated worse than a Malfoy house elf before continuing on to his introduction into the wizarding world._

_They watched as Hagrid took Harry through Diagon Alley and Gringotts, watched as Harry was sorted, they watched Dumbledore and Harry talk about the Mirror of Erised. Next they watched as Harry faced off against Quirrel and Voldemort to save Flamel's stone._

_On and on it went, every meeting with Dumbledore and every fight against Voldemort, including the fight against the Basilisk. They watched all of Harry's memories from third year that concerned Sirius up to the part where he saved him from the Dementors and then helped him to escape, including the part where he and Hermione had hidden in the forest where the werewolf Lupin would run their way._

_Up until that point, excluding the time at the Dursley's, the two grown men had already lived through most of that. However, both of their eyes went wide and they payed rapt attention as his memories moved on into fourth year._

_They all watched the visions of Voldemort. Harry being selected against his will in the Triwizard Tournament, his friends abandoning him, facing off against the dragon, navigating the dark waters of the black lake to save Ron. They watched as he fought his way through the maze of the third task, as Harry and Cedric were both transported away when they touched the cup, and watched as Cedric was killed and Harry had to fight the reborn Voldemort. By now Harry had a look of cold determination on his face as he ignored the single tear that had leaked from his eye._

_Next they watched Harry being attacked by the dementors, him almost being expelled, his torture at the hands of Umbridge as she slowly took over the school. They saw his vision of Sirius being captured at the Department of Mysteries. They watched as the six students made their way through the ministry collecting the prophecy and fighting off Death Eaters._

_They watched as Harry was blasted into the cabinet full of Time-Turner's and felt the odd sensation that Harry himself had felt as he was shifted through time and space. Saw as Harry appeared in a familiar scene, only this time it was Rose and Hermione who were hiding in the forest waiting to rescue Sirius._

_They watched as Harry, who was still sat stunned, get attacked by the werewolf Lupin. They watched as Harry drove him off and watched as his body went to war with itself and several outside forces before it turned into a giant wolf. The last memory that the watched was of Harry making his way towards the Black lake before blacking out._

The three touched back down inside of Dumbledore's office, but the silence that would have followed for a while never came as Harry spoke up. "I will need your vow's Albus before I tell you the rest."

Dumbledore nodded his head solemnly before turning to explain the situation to Sirius. Harry and Dumbledore made the first unbreakable vow, with Sirius acting as the binder, before Dumbledore and Sirius traded places and repeated. Albus just hoped that he hadn't made a huge mistake.

"As you can see," Harry started. "In less than a year's time, Voldemort will return. However, I don't intend for him to enjoy his rebirth but for as few minutes as possible. When I was bitten by Moony, a lot of different things happened inside of my body at once. The best I can describe it is as a war was going on inside of me. The basilisk venom, phoenix tears, werewolf venom, and my soul all went to war. However, there was one other thing inside of me at the time."

Harry absently traced where the lightning bolt scar had been on his forehead for so many years. Once the cursed piece of Voldemort's soul had been removed, it too had been healed along with the rest of his body during his transformation, along with the slight change of his appearance as the three entities merged together.

"The night Voldemort killed my parents and failed to kill me, a piece of his soul broke off from the main source and latched itself onto me. When I was bitten by Moony, it realized the treat and tried to seize control over my body. However, it was so weak, being such a small piece of his soul, that I was able to destroy and absorb it. All of Voldemort's knowledge, skills, and memories became my own. Even a part of his personality was joined with my own, along with the personality of the wolf."

Here Albus interrupted for the first time. "I had suspected for some time that he had made a Horcrux, but I never knew how many or what they could have been. Are you telling me you know what and where every one of them are?"

Harry nodded his head. "Yes, he created six on purpose and I assume he left a piece inside of Rose as well. There was the Diary, Ravenclaw's Diadem, Slytherin's Locket, Hufflepuff's Chalice, the Gaunt family ring, and his pet snake Nagini. Then there is the piece inside of Rose."

Albus sat contemplating for a moment before he seemed to droop in his chair. "This is most troubling indeed. You say that young Rose is a Horcrux, however there are only three ways to destroy such a device. Basilisk venom, Fiendfyre, and the killing curse. None of which I believe she would survive again."

"YOU MEAN SHE IS GOING TO DIE?" Sirius shouted. "There must be another way." he continued shrinking in on himself.

"Of course she isn't!" Harry said heatedly. "She is me! I will let nobody harm a hair on her head!"

"What do you have in mind Harry?" Albus asked.

Harry sat contemplating his words for a second, stealing a quick glance at his and Rose's godfather before stealing himself. "I am going to mate her. I was able to survive the piece of Voldemort's soul inside of me being destroyed, and she can too. She will be my alpha and I will give her the one thing she and I have never had the chance to know...family, love, and protection!"

"You are going to mate her?" Sirius asked incredulously, not knowing whether or not to laugh or attack him for suggesting having sex with his goddaughter. "You say it like you are still a wolf?"

"In some ways I am. When the transformation happened, my personality mixed with the wolf's and Voldemort's. Thankfully my personality took more prevalence than the other two, but there are certain things about my personality that has changed towards more of what the other two would have done or wanted." Harry said, trying to explain what had happened to him, even if he didn't understand a lot of it himself. "As for your other question, you must think about it from my point of view. She and I are two sides of the same coin. In essence, we are perfect for each other as we have both went through the same hardships through life and there is nobody that could ever possibly understand us better then each other."

Sirius still didn't look 100% convinced but decided to ask the question that had been bothering him since he arrived. "Not that I don't appreciate what I have learned tonight, I still don't see how it was important that I be here to witness it. Why would you risk such important information to me if there isn't much I can even do with said information?"

This was the question Harry was most worried about, but he knew he would have to address it sooner or later. "Rose and I may be the same in everything but gender, but in this world she is the daughter of James and Lily Potter, not me." Harry's faced adopted a sad look as realization once more took over of the truth he was about to tell. "Here I have nobody. I am the son of James and Lily Nobody. I have no family in this world, not even a last name by which to call myself. I know that you are not the same Sirius that I knew in my world, but you are the closest thing in this world to a parent I am going to find."

Harry once more steeled his nerves before asking the question he had asked for Sirius to be here for. "The Sirius in my world told me that Azkaban had made him sterile and that you can no longer have children of your own, and I was hoping you would adopt me as your son, and that I could take your last name and perhaps have a family in this world."

Sirius sat stunned. Here sat a young man that he didn't know, but so closely resembled his dead best friend, minus Lily's eyes of course. He had half expected that spending twelve years in that hell hole would have damaged parts of his body beyond repair, and the notion that he wouldn't have the ability to father a child was a very believable one. However, he had to at least know what plans Harry had for the future before he could make a decision. "Before I make my decision, I need to know what your plans for the future are. No offense but I don't want to adopt the next dark lord."

Here Harry smirked. If this Sirius was anything like the one he knew, the old Marauder was going to love what he said next. "I told you how the wolf in me was demanding I mate Rose and make her my Alpha. However, you can't have an Alpha without a pack...I am going to mate the daughters of the rich who only have female heirs and then if...something were to happen to those rich purebloods that happen to support Voldemort...their entire fortune goes to me instead of Voldemort or the one who tries to take his place."

Sirius couldn't help but let loose a barking laugh. "You are definitely the son of James. Screwing over snobbish purebloods while taking their fortunes would have Prongs laughing in his grave!"

Sirius stopped laughing for a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking. "If have no chance of fathering a son of my own, and if you are going to be the love of my goddaughter's life anyhow, I may as well agree. Besides I have never been known as someone to not take risks or actually think a decision through for longer than a few seconds."

Harry leaped from his chair and flung himself at Sirius, not even bothering with the fact he wasn't the same Sirius he knew, and gave the man...his soon to be father...a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you!" Harry mumbled into Sirius's chest, refusing to let the tears that had gathered in his eyes fall.

"You're welcome...son." Sirius eventually replied, returning the hug. "Albus you and Harry can plot the fall of Voldemort later, for now I have a son to adopt, and old house to clean up, and a trip to Gringotts to make in the morning."


	14. Wolf Harry - Part 3

Harry and Sirius's initial trip to Grimmauld place had been rather eventful. Harry had hundreds of memories on how to act as a proper pureblood, after all Tom had to be convincing to his followers. The moment the pair walked through the door, they were of course greeted by the shrill voice of Sirius's mother.

"YOU BLOOD-TRAITOR! HOW DARE YOU RETURN TO MY HOUSE! YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO THE HOUSE OF BLACK!" she shouted at the top of her lungs.

Harry had a plan this time to bring her down a peg or two. Harry put a hand on Sirius' shoulder before straightening himself up like a proper pureblood and making his way over in front of the painting.

"Speaking of disgrace." Harry said planting a sneer on his face. "How dare you sit there and screech like a banshee. I am almost positive that you were raised better than a common muggle."

"HOW DARE YOU, YOU JUMPED UP LITTLE..." she started again, but was cut off as Harry raised his voice.

"And while we are at it, how dare you let that wretched house elf let Black manor fall into filth and dispair. Has it become common practice for the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black to live in worse squalor than a Weasley?" Harry knew that the only way he was going to get through to her was to out 'pureblood' her and shame her. "You have helped to disgrace the Black family with your laziness! It will be fixed and you will start acting your station woman, or I will tear down this wall and throw to in the street to live with the muggles! DO...I...MAKE...MYSELF...CLEAR?"

His latest threats seemed to have gotten to her, and the fear of having to live with muggles was something she didn't even want to consider. Properly cowed and wide-eyed she just nodded with a hastily "Yes milord.", and curtsied before taking her seat and going back to sleep.

"Wow!" Sirius said awed that someone happened to put his mother in her place. "Never thought someone would be able to shut that cow up."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at Sirius' term for his mother. "Most purebloods are easy to handle if you know what to do. Just make them believe they are acting like a muggle or a blood-traitor and they will trip over each other trying to fix the problem."

"So I guess we should go to bed." Sirius had suggested. "We have much to do tomorrow!"

Harry just nodded at his suggestion and the pair set off to find the cleanest room possible to catch a few hours of sleep.

The next morning Harry, and a disguised Sirius, made their way into the goblin bank to fill out the paperwork to have Harry adopted as his son and heir. Thankfully Harry already had Black blood in him due to his grandmother having been a Black herself and they did not have to do any painful blood adoption rituals.

Another blessing in disguise was that the goblins would send in all of the appropriate paperwork to the ministry so Sirius wouldn't have to make a suicide mission to have the proper documentation filled out with the ministry.

Afterwards the pair made their way to the Black vault, which Harry had been added to, to grab enough gold to do some shopping. Unfortunately it would have been unwise for Sirius to be out and about the Alley any longer than necessary so Harry was on his own for the day.

His first stop was to get a complete new wardrobe. He made his way to muggle London first to obtain a muggle friendly attire, even if it was of the higher end merchandise. Next he went to Madam Malkin's and spent a small fortune on robes of the highest quality silk they had. His plans would be all for not if he did not look the part of a pureblood. That was another unfortunate side of the merging Harry had noted. His new personality was solely focused on finding his mates and gaining gold and power. He was quite sad to see that the tiny bit of Voldemort's personality that had crept into his own no longer had him wishing to associate with most of his previous friends. Ron was too poor and Hermione's blood would only serve to hinder his plans.

There was a part of Harry that was extremely sad that he would lose his two best friends, but another part of him justified it because even if they looked like his old best friends, he knew the two were not the same people and they didn't even know who he was. They hadn't gone on the same adventures with him in this world. They were strangers.

His last stop in the magical world for the day was to head down Knockturn Alley. After his merging, he found that his old Holly and phoenix feather wand would no longer work for him as well as it had in the past. While it would still be serviceable as a back-up wand, he knew that he would need to obtain a new one that was fitted to his new magic and personality.

Thanks to Voldemort's memories, he knew of an old wandcrafter's shop down Knockturn that made custom wands that were attuned perfectly to his magic. Although, once he had gotten there, it had taken him several hours just to find the ingredients to make his wand.

The search for the wood had taken the longest, and it wasn't until he touched a pale while wood, that he couldn't identify, that he felt that thrum of power beneath his fingertips. The old wandcrafter looked giddy that the wood had been chosen and told him why. "How much do you know of the muggle world Mr. Black?" he has asked Harry.

"I have a basic understanding of them why?" Harry has asked, confused as to why someone down Knockturn Alley would have dealings with the muggles.

"Just a few decades ago the muggles achieved the technology to actually fly to the moon!" the old man answered almost giddy. "An upstart apprentice of mine, who is where I learnt what knowledge of muggles I have, managed to disguise himself as one of the men onboard the muggle craft and made journey with them to the moon." The old man stated, seemingly enjoying telling his tale.

"Upon landing the men set out to explore, and of course they did not find much besides barren land. That was until my apprentice stumbled upon something that was a complete surprise to him. There in the shadows of a large crater grew a pale white tree, taller than a giant. The men did not have very long to explore, so my apprentice managed to obtain this very piece of wood from the Elder Moon Tree, and obliviated the knowledge of it from the rest of the men. The tree itself is possibly thousands of years old, and since then this wood has sat in my shop, waiting for the day its owner walked through to claim it."

The old man leaned in closer and whispered the last part. "That tree obviously has known magic, as I can feel it emanating from within it. However, I personally believe that the reason why wolves howl to the moon, and werewolves only transform within its full presence, is that the tree is calling out to them and they are answering its call. Of course, this is all merely hypothetical and it would be interesting to see if this wand will give you any sort of control over lupin creatures."

Harry wasn't going to lie, he was never really one for history, but something about the man's story really sparked an interest within him. He too was interested to see if his new wand would give him any sort of power over the moon children.

Next came his search for his cores. It too took longer than he would have liked but he eventually found the most peculiar of cores. It was a pair of fangs that Harry was going to assume were from a wolf of some sort.

The old man once again gave him a grin as he launched into explanation. "These fangs have been in my family for almost 800 years. There is an old muggle tale that came to be from around that time that spoke of an old Norse god by the name of Odin. Of course, he wasn't a god but in fact a very powerful wizard; one of the most powerful of his time."

"At his side always sat a pair of ravens and a pair of ancient magical wolves. Geri and Freki, as the wolves were called, fought with the legendary wizard for many years until their dying day. My ancient ancestor, who was also a wandcrafter and had crafted Odin's wands, was gifted with one fang from each creature upon their passing."

This time the old man looked at Harry with a tiny bit of suspicion. "You clearly have a deep connecting with the spirit of the wolves. I would suspect you of being a werewolf if it were not for the fact last night was the night of the full moon, you would most certainly be bed ridden and your appearance would be much worse off if you were."

"I thank you for the excellent history lesson behind my wand and am sure your work will be most satisfactory." Harry replied to the man. "How long until it is ready for use?"

"You are most welcome Mr. Black." The old man smiled once more. "I myself had the pleasure of learning history from Durmstrang where we do not have a boring ghost for a teacher, and I do quite enjoy the history that comes along with my profession. As for your wand, it shall be ready by the end of the day if you would like to stop back by."

Harry just nodded and payed the man for his wand upfront and made his way from the shop before taking the floo back to Grimmauld place. Thankfully he no longer face planted while using that mode of transportation, but he still found it unpleasant and exceedingly dirty, and he immediately decided to spend the time waiting for his wand to be complete by mastering the other forms of magical transportation that Voldemort had given him the knowledge of.

The most obvious, and commonly used, was of course apparition. Knowing the steps to do it, plus having the memories of actually doing it, he found it rather easy to accomplish the uncomfortable means of travel. At least he didn't end up covered in soot after apparition, unlike when using the floo.

It was however, the other means of transportation that Voldemort knew that caught Harry's eye the most. It was something he had never even seen before, let alone knew of its existence. Voldemort apparently could fly like smoke on the wind, and Harry was anxious to master it. He loved flying on his broom, but even then it was restrictive to how fast the broom could go and maneuver. He couldn't wait to remove those restrictions and take to the skies unaided.

Thankfully his wand wouldn't be done until the end of the day as mastering Smoke Walking, at least that is what Voldemort had known the ability as, wasn't a very easy skill to learn even with the knowledge of how to do so. It had taken him many hours and quite a few crash landing into random obstacles before he finally figured it out.

It was the most amazing thing he had ever done before. He was so free. It felt like he was merely a cloud of smoke running through the wind, and he could at least understand how it received its name. There was no set speed on how fast you could travel, it was dependent upon how strong you were magically. It was almost the exact same as how people who had more magic, or better control over it, could apparate farther than people with weaker magic or control.

Finally it was time to go pick up his wand, and Harry decided to just Smoke Walk, or just plain Fly as Harry had taken to calling it. He had already decided that unless it was to play Quidditch, he would never use a broom again.

Excitedly, Harry made his way into the wandcrafters shop. The wandmaker cracked a huge grin the moment he saw Harry walk in, and quickly grabbled a long white box from below the counter and made his way to him.

"I took the liberty of adding a few extra runes to your wand, however, the biggest thing I decided to do was add a Moonstone Gem into the hilt to act as a focusing tool. I am almost certain that it will be most compatible with you as you seem to have quite an affinity for the moon and the creatures she guides."

Harry took the box and carefully opened it before placing it on the counter. The wand itself was a pale white, the same color he would see if here were to step outside tonight and look up to the moon itself. Even more impressive were the small crater like holes that were scattered randomly throughout the wood, make it look as if the wand had been crafted straight from the face of the moon itself.

"It's beautiful, truly!" Harry told the old wandcrafter. "I shall take great care with it always."

"Well go on and give it a wave!" the man said almost cheerfully. Truthfully he was excited as it wasn't everyday he got the opportunity to work with such unique material.

Harry slowly reached down into the box and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of the wand, and he immediately knew that it was a perfect fit. A torrent of power flared up within him, as his body started to glow with an emerald green aura and pale white sparks shot out from the tip of his wand. After a few minutes it finally died down leaving both men breathless and in awe. "Wow!" said Harry. "I haven't felt power like that before!"

"Nor have I Mr. Black." The old man said in awe. "I will beat myself up later for even daring to sound like that old fraud Ollivander, but I think we can expect great things from you Mr. Black!"

Harry thanked the man once more and finally made his way back home for the night. He really wanted to go and get his Rose away from the Dursley's but he knew that he would have to wait a little while longer. For one he still had to get to work on his Occlumency and start sorting all of his new memories and knowledge. He was curious to see what new treats of magic he would find when he did. The other reason was that Kreature was still working to repair the damages to Grimmauld place that had occurred over years of neglect.

The next few days were spent by both Harry and Sirius working on the house, both cleaning and redecorating. Sirius wanted to do away with, and tried to convince him to just get rid of, the obvious dark objects while keeping the overall Slytherin look. They had a part to play after all and they would need convincing.

Harry would spend most mornings, while Sirius slept in still recovering from his time in Azkaban and his year on the run, working on his Occlumency and sorting through his memories. According to Voldemort's knowledge, there were several different methods of doing this depending on what you wanted to accomplish, and they each would accomplish different things.

The first was the 'Slytherin' way of doing things. You could learn to clear your mind, thus suppressing your memories and emotions, there was what he called the 'Ravenclaw' way, where you would organize your mind and thoughts into an easy to access way, such as a mental library where you could store all of your thoughts and knowledge into books based on the category.

The other two methods were what he called the 'Gryffindor' and 'Hufflepuff' methods. The first was using a series of offensive traps and wards to protect your 'mindscape' as it were, and the second was to use 'familiars' who would protect and defend your mind for you.

Harry had decided, as all masters of the art do, to use a variety of the four. His normal mind would be a large dark forest where his inner wolf would patrol his thoughts. The leaves on the trees would become his thoughts and memories, and each tree was designated to a certain topic. Of course, he had several tree's that contained fake memories and knowledge that he would use to defend the real ones in the unlikely event someone managed to access his mind.

He also placed several 'wards' around his forest, using all of the knowledge from Voldemort that he had just sorted. His first line of defense however, would be the ability to clear his mind and hide his mindscape in the shadows of his mind. He knew that any practitioners of the art would be able to hide his thoughts this way from anyone who did not have the will power to overpower the will power of the person whose mind they were entering.

During the day, Harry and Sirius would talk and get to know each other. While Harry may have known Sirius from his world, they still really hadn't known enough about each other for Harry's liking and this Sirius only knew what he had been shown in the pensieve about Harry.

Their nights were spent with Harry making his plans for the future, with Sirius offering the occasional input on ideas he had that he thought would help. Harry would also get Sirius to tell him more about this world to make sure that, other than the him of this world being an extremely attractive female, nothing else had changed greatly.

It was during the day that Harry had decided to go and rescue his Rose, that he had a huge break in his plans. Kreature had the house cleaned and polished perfectly and Sirius and Harry were working on the drawing room, cleaning out the obvious dark objects to be stored in the basement. Inside of the glass cabinet in the drawing room, Harry literally did a double take when he saw sitting right there in front of him was Slytherin's locket that was supposed to be hidden in an underground lake.

Once Harry had gotten over the shock of it actually being in the manor, he started to wonder just how it had gotten there, and how many more of the Horcruxes were going to be in a place other than where he thought they were.

"Hey Sirius!" Harry called out. "You have got to see this!"

"What is it son?" Sirius asked. Harry had still yet to get used to the fact that he had someone he could call family. It didn't mean that he didn't smile every time Sirius called him son.

"Remember what I told you about Voldemort's Horcruxes? You won't believe what I actually just found in here!" Harry said holding up the ornate locket so Sirius could see it.

"Is that…is that Slytherin's locket?" Sirius asked disbelieving. "But, how in the hell did it end up here?"

"I don't know, but we could always ask Kreature. He seems to know what more of this stuff is than we do." Harry laughed.

"KREATURE!" Sirius yelled.

"Nasty master calls for Kreature?" the senile old elf asked as he popped into view.

Harry still found it funny that Sirius couldn't get the damn little creature to treat him with any sort of respect. Harry, however, had had no problems. A simple threat to have him sold to a family of muggleborns if he did not start acting the part of a proper elf to him was enough to get the old elf to treat Harry with respect.

"Kreature, what can you tell me about this locket?" Harry asked the old elf.

Kreature looked to see what locket Harry was talking about before his eyes went wide and he started to cry while banging his head on the wall. "Kreature you will stop this instant and answer my question!" Harry told him.

Kreature straightened up and told the duo of his trip with Regulus and Voldemort to the underground lake where he had hidden the locket. He told them how Regulus and him had returned to try and thwart Voldemort by stealing and destroying the locket, and how Regulus had given his own life in order to save Kreature's with only the order to destroy the locket at all costs. Kreature had broken down then while muttering about failing his master and how nothing he tried would even damage the locket.

"You may stay and watch the deed be done then Kreature." Harry said as he placed the locket on the desk. Harry brought up his desire to see the piece of Voldemort dead before he incanted. "Avada Kedavra!"

The brilliant green light erupted from his new Elder Moon wand and slammed into the locket. A very brief scream was heard emanating from the locket, as a smoky shade jumped from within it only to burst away into nothingness, leaving the locket left unharmed. "You may consider your job complete Kreature. You did well in guarding the locket."

"Thank you young master Harry sir!" the old elf cried throwing himself down at Harry's feet. Harry couldn't help but laugh when Sirius stalked off muttering about stupid elves and wondering why they didn't show him any respect.

"You are welcome Kreature, now I have plans to make for tonight so you may return to your duties." With a quick nod and a small pop Kreature had gone.

Harry had waited until late to go and rescue Rose from the Dursley's for a couple of reasons. One he did not want old Figg from getting wind that she was gone so quickly. He knew that thanks to his vow Albus couldn't interfere with his decision as it was 'part of his plans', but he knew the old headmaster would still give him grief over it. His other reason was that if he had to deal with the Dursley's he would probably end up murdering them, and that was a headache he didn't really need just now.

Harry let Sirius know he was going, and after receiving wishes for luck from him, he burst into smoke and shadows and flew out into the night. It was about midnight when Number 4 came into view. Thankfully like him, Rose had left her window open so her owl could go hunting during the night. Quietly he glided in through her open window and landed on the floor beside her bed.

He took a brief second to look around, noticing how the sparse room resembled the one from his world so closely. The only difference being the person sleeping in the bed.

Even asleep he found Rose the most beautiful girl in the world. Although he could still make out the tear tracks from where it looked as if she had cried herself to sleep. Harry frowned as his mind went to trying to figure out what exactly had made her cry. She appeared to be having a fitful sleep so Harry gently sat down on the bed next to her, and started to stroke her hair before waking her up.

"Rose, it's time to wake up." Harry said softly to her.

Rose jerked awake and was already halfway to her wand before she realized who it was that had just woke her up. "You came!" she shouted quietly before surprisingly turning and lunging at him hugging him to her as if he might disappear.

Harry had to take a moment to calm his emotions when he finally caught sight of what she was wearing. She had on a thin white nighty that had twisted when she did and had ridden up so he could make out her very cute black-lace panty clad bum. He was sure that it was something she had bought with her own time and money as he doubted Petunia had the sense of fashion to do so.

Tuning out the thoughts of the wolf demanding that he take her right then and there he answered her. "I told you I would rescue you from this hell hole didn't I. Did you not believe me?"

She buried her head into his shoulder before nodding sheepishly. "Nobody else has ever cared enough to do so. I half expected you to not as well."

Harry could tell from her voice that she had tears falling from her eyes so he just pulled her closer to him. "Hey. There is nothing I wouldn't do to keep you safe. I want you to always remember that!"

"Slowly she looked up from his shoulder and into his eyes. The swollen redness of her eyes telling he was indeed correct about her crying. "You promise?" she asked quietly.

"On my life." He answered quietly.

Rose just stared into his eyes for what seemed like eternity, as if searching his soul for the truth in his words. Neither moved until suddenly Rose threw her arms around Harry's neck and slammed her lips into his. Harry would admit that he had very little experience with kissing. His first kiss with Cho had been a huge wet mess…literally. And his chaste kiss of Rose the week previous had been so quick he hadn't the opportunity to enjoy it. However, even as the novice that he was, he knew that it would be hard to top the experience he was having right now. Her lips were soft and smooth, and she tasted of honey and lavender. He let his tongue venture into her mouth as it waged a private war with hers for dominance.

Finally after a few minutes of pure bliss, Harry had a break away from her. She looked at him with a bit of fear that he was rejecting her. "That was amazing." He told her breathlessly and a grin. "But if we don't stop for now, I don't think I can keep myself from taking you right here in this bed and I am sure you wouldn't enjoy your first time being in this house."

Her eyes widened and her face went a deep crimson as she blushed. However, she was saved when her stomach gave off a particularly loud rumble. It was then that Harry remembered it had probably been longer than it should have been since she had eaten a proper meal.

"When was the last time those filthy slobs gave you a proper meal?" he asked her softly. "Hey you don't need to be ashamed." He told her as she looked down in embarrassment. He placed a finger under her chin and raised to gaze to look at him. "The only ones who should be embarrassed about how they have treated you is them. That you have survived living with those scum just shows how strong you are."

"Two days." She answered quietly with teary eyes.

Harry pulled her back to him and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before calling Kreature. "Young master calls for Kreature?"

"Yes, can you fetch me some sandwiches and something to drink and make it quick." Harry ordered the elf.

The elf popped back in a few minutes later holding a large plate of sandwiches and a large goblet of orange juice before bowing and leaving once more. Harry set the plate on the bed and moved to rest his back against the wall and turned Rose in his arms so she was leaning against him as he pulled her tight again before handing her a sandwich.

"Thank you." She said softly as she took the sandwich, hastily taking a bite.

Harry resumed stroking her hair while she ate. "You welcome. All you need to do is ask and I will gladly make sure you have whatever it is you need."

Rose finished chewing the bite she currently had in her mouth and then sat still for a moment. Harry gave her a few seconds to gather her thoughts for whatever it was she wanted to say. After a minute she spoke. "Anything?" she asked.

"You just name it." Harry replied.

"Even if what I wanted was you?" she asked shyly, looking everywhere but at Harry.

Harry couldn't help the smile that crossed his face when she asked him. He turned her face to the side so he could look her in the eyes. "Like I said…Gladly." He said leaning down to capture her mouth in his once more. He didn't think he would ever be tired of tasting her. He had never done drugs or potions for the hell of it, but he bet they had nothing on the high he got from kissing Rose. He reluctantly broke away after a few minutes, he knew that she was still hungry and he wanted her to eat.

The two sat in silence for a while as Harry continued running his hands through her hair while she ate. She had just finished her third sandwich and taken a large sip of orange juice before she turned her head on his chest so she could see him again. "So when are you going to ask me whatever question it is you had? I am curious to know more about you." She asked.

"It won't be too much longer, I promise. If everything goes well between us it will be well before the summer ends." He told her. "It is a big decision on your part and I want to give you the time in advanced so you will know what you want to say when the time comes."

Rose wasn't a stupid girl by any stretch of the imagination. Granted he may have left her in a daze after their first meeting outside of Dumbledore's office, but once she was able to get away and actually think back to what he said, she was able to piece together a large portion of what he had told her. She knew that he claimed to be the male version of her from another world. As hard as it was to believe, she had seen stranger things from magic and she did not feel as if he had been lying to her.

She had pieced together that he was interested in her, and add in the fact she had seen him transform from a huge wolf back into a human before he passed out, she could only assume that he wanted to do as all wolves were known to do and add her to his pack. She had to admit with a coy smile that if he was to offer it to her, she would definitely give it a lot of consideration. He was the only one who had actually cared enough to come and rescue her from living with her awful relatives, and it helped that he looked like Adonis in human form.

She hadn't branched out very far at Hogwarts when it came to making friends, and even less when it came to boys, which she had just started to notice in recent months. However, there was something about him showing he cared deeply for her and wanting to protect her at all costs, that just drove her mind crazy about him.

Finally she answered him with a coy smile. "Just know it is not polite to keep a lady waiting for long."

Harry couldn't help but chuckle at her joke. "So would you like to leave here or do you want to wait for morning?"

She snuggled deeper into his embrace before answering. "I think I will wait for morning. I am too comfortable to move just yet."

Harry just nodded and kissed her once more before sliding out from behind her until he was laying down beside her. He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her tight against him while she snuggled into his chest, almost immediately falling asleep. Harry watched her for about twenty more minutes with a smile on his face before he too fell asleep.


	15. Wolf Harry - Part 4

Harry woke the next morning and immediately had to stop and remind himself that it wasn't _his_ room at the Dursley's that he had woken up in. That led him to remember whose room it actually was, and that she was currently wrapped in his arms, her head nestled in the crook of his neck and an arm and leg slung over his body holding tightly on to him. Harry couldn't help the smile that broke out over his face.

Harry knew that his plan wasn't going to be an easy one. After all, he was trying to win over a number of girls, each of whom had a mind of her own. Adding Rose was just the first piece, but to him it was the most important. Even if he failed spectacularly at his mission, which he was confident he wouldn't, he would be happy if it was just him and Rose.

He lay there just watching her sleep until he knew it was getting close to the time the Dursley's would normally start to wake in his own world. "Hey beautiful." Harry whispered in Rose's ear, giving her a slight shake. "We should be off, Petunia will be up soon."

Rose just groaned and wormed her way deeper into his embrace. "Nmngh, don' wanna!" she mumbled.

Harry chuckled. "I am sure you wouldn't want me to have to Crucio that horse-faced banshee when she decided to start screaming about you being in bed with a strange man."

Rose finally untucked her head and looked up to meet his eyes with a puppy dog face. "Can't you like apparate or fly or however it was you got in here to get us both back out?"

Harry pulled her up to him so he could give her a good morning kiss, something he knew he would never tire of doing. She started to deepen the kiss, and moaned when Harry slid his hand down to cup he pert bum. Before things could get any further the sound of the shower turning on in the master bedroom broke them apart.

"Kreature." Harry called lightly.

With a small pop he was there. "You be calling Kreature young master?"

"Yes please pack everything in the room except for a change of clothing for Rose. And make sure you don't use any magic that is traceable by the ministry!" Harry may be able to do magic anywhere he wanted, courtesy of getting a wand at a shop that caters to purebloods, but Rose however could not and getting a second offense for underage magic was something he already knew the penalty for.

"So Harry where are we going?" Rose asked. He had forgotten that he hadn't actually told her about Sirius and being adopted by him.

Just thinking about the events of the past week had him smiling. "We are going to my new father's manor." he said with a rogue grin.

"Father? I don't understand." Rose questioned with a confused look.

"Yeah, it's the reason why it took me so long to come get you. I had a talk with Sirius, he was my godfather as well in my world, and since Azkaban had stolen his ability to have a child of his own, he adopted me and named me his heir. I am now Harry James Black!"

"You mean we are going to live with Sirius!" she squealed before pouncing on him.

"Of course, I knew how much I wanted it after third year plus it was my backup plan to get to know you better." he winked. "We have spent all week cleaning the place. Kreature had been there alone for years with only a portrait of Sirius' mum and they had let the place go pretty badly."

"Everything be packed young master. Will you be needing anything else from Kreature?" the elf drawled.

"Thank you Kreature, you may go, take her trunk with you and put it in the room next to mine." Harry told him absently. He turned back to Rose. "As much as I would love to see you wearing that for the rest of the day, I am sure that Sirius would have a heart attack. Perhaps you should hurry and change so we can leave this wretched place."

Rose just nodded before hopping quickly out of bed and started to dress. Harry took great care to watch as she slipped her nightgown over her head, showing her amazing body dressed only in her lace black panties and bra. "Like what you see Mr. Black." Rose asked him saucily, although she was sporting a major blush.

"I think I change my mind." Harry started, his mouth going dry all of a sudden. "I think this is what I wouldn't mind seeing you wear all day. Sadly, it would definitely give that old dog a massive heart attack."

"Well sadly for you, you are going to have to turn around while I change my undergarments. You won't be getting to see the rest of me just yet." she said with a coy smile on her face. "As in sometime after I hear a certain question that you need an answer too."

Harry couldn't help but laugh as he turned around. "I should have known...after all, we could have been great in Slytherin."

He knew it was safe to turn his head back around when she plopped herself back down on his lap. "Well prince charming, your damsel is ready to flee this castle."

"Well then my princess, please make sure all seat backs are forward and trays locked in the upright position and prepare for take-off." he told her.

They both stood up and she jumped into his arms, wrapping her arms and legs around his body before he twisted on the spot the pair disappeared from Number 4 for hopefully the last time.

Of course, Harry had never taken someone along for the ride during apparition and promptly fell on the soft green carpet of the drawing room, Rose landing straight on top of him. Harry didn't have more than a few seconds the catch the breath that was knocked out of him before he felt her lips crashing back into his. Clearly she was also happy about finally escaping from the Dursley's. This was the scene that Sirius stumbled upon them in, just as things were starting to get heated.

"Ahem!" Sirius faked coughed with a rogue smile on his face.

"Sirius!" Rose shouted before getting up and launching herself at him.

"It's good to see you too Rosie!" Sirius laughed at the girls exuberance. "How have you been since I last saw you?"

Rose made a face before answering. "I hate living at the Dursley's. I am just glad Harry came and took me away."

"Yes well, he seems very taken with you." Sirius laughed. "Damn near drove the house elf into the grave trying to get this place cleaned quicker so he could go get you."

Rose let go of Sirius and wrapped her arms back around Harry. "Yes well, I am very well taken by him as well." She blushed, but had a huge smile on her face. "So what are we going to do today?"

"We are going to do every girls dream, and every man's nightmare." Harry said. "Shopping!"

Rose squealed and hugged him tighter. "I can finally get rid of these stupid hand-me-downs!"

Harry gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "It will only be the best for you from now on, I promise. We will have to hurry however. We have a lot of getting to know each other and having fun to do this summer!"

The three spent most of the summer getting to better know one another. All three of them were bonding and for the first time in forever, they each felt like they had a family who cared about them. The Weasley's had offered Rose to join them for the Quidditch World Cup. Harry of course wasn't going to let his Rose stay with a family full of mostly men before he could mate her, even if he knew that most of them were trustworthy. So he had Rose decline so he could take her instead. They would of course be sharing the top box all the same.

Rose had never been camping so Harry had made a trip to Gringotts for enough gold for a huge wizarding tent, along with a large sum of gold that he planned on betting on the game as he knew the outcome. They were only going to stay the one night, so that Rose could hang out with her friends at least, even if she was going to stay in the tent with Harry.

Rose had voiced her displeasure at the fact their portkey would have been scheduled much earlier than she wanted to be awake. It wasn't that she was used to sleeping in as it was the fact she enjoyed the extra time in Harry's arms. While she had her own room, it did not take her long to realize that she slept much better cuddled against Harry than she did without him. Harry just chuckled at her predicament and told her that he hated portkey's anyhow and they would be apparating in a couple hours before the match.

A few hours later found Harry and Rose standing outside of their newly erected tent. Rose was dressed in perfect muggle attire, but as Harry had a role to play for the foreseeable future, he was still dressed in his expensive acromantula robes. "So Rose, I assume you would like to go see your friends?" he asked her.

"Of course!" she said excitedly. "Besides I have to introduce you to them eventually."

"Well then, let's head that way." Harry told her before directing her to where he remembered the Weasley's to be staying from his own timeline.

Hermione was the first to notice their arrival. "Rose!" she squealed before launching herself at Rose, giving you a massive hug.

"Hey Hermione it's good to see you. Have you enjoyed your summer?" Rose asked.

"It was great! Mum and dad took me to France for a week and…Oh! Hello!" Hermione said, finally noticing Harry, but not remembering his name as she hadn't talked to him the last time she had briefly seen him.

"Hello. Harry Black, it's a pleasure to meet you." Harry told her giving her a slight bow. By now the rest of the Weasley clan had started to make their way to the couple. Ron was giving him dirty looks when he noticed he had Rose's hand in his while the rest of the group were eyeing him wearily.

"Hermione Granger. It is good to meet you officially." She replied.

"Let me introduce you to everyone else." Rose said as she told him the names he had already known from his own life.

After everyone had given him a half-hearted hello before he greeted them in return. "Harry Black. It is a pleasure to meet the friends of Rose." He told them as he received a few gasps and accusing glares. Harry had kind of forgotten that the Weasley's hadn't been told of Sirius's innocence until after fourth year.

"Any relation to Sirius Black?" Mr. Weasley asked cautiously.

"My father actually." Harry answered. Seeing them about to explode at him he continued. "But of course as I am sure you are aware, my father has spent all of my life in Azkaban and thus I was raised…elsewhere." He added the last part with only the slightest of hesitations, but he noticed the relief on most of their faces.

"Well, we are just fixing to head to the stadium." Mr. Weasley interjected. "Would you two like to join us for the journey?"

"Of course." Harry told him. "I am sure Rose would like to chat with her friends along the way."

"Wonderful! It is a bit of a journey through the woods, so we should probably head that way."

Harry and Rose walked hand in hand next to Hermione and Ron, the latter of which kept shooting glares at Harry, while she caught up with her two friends. Harry mostly tried to keep to himself as he thought back to what he remembered to have happened today in his world. He had already placed a rather large bet on the outcome of the game that he was hoping to cash in on, but he was more worried about what had came afterwards then the actual game itself. He knew that he would have to keep an eye on Rose if the Death Eaters did indeed decide to have a bit of fun in this world as well.

The trip up the mountain of steps to the ministers box was a rather unenjoyable one. Why the wizarding world hadn't invented something to make stairs easier he would never know. The top box looked just as grand as Harry remembered it and there were already quite a few people there when they had arrived. Mrs. Weasley ushered her children and Hermione towards their seats, while Mr. Weasley made the rounds of greeting people he knew. Harry was about to lead Rose over towards their seats when the minister, Cornelius Fudge, spotted her.

"Miss Potter! What a wonderful surprise to see you here." Clearly the man hadn't lost his touch in this world when it came to sucking up to people.

"Hello minister." Rose answered politely. "It is nice to see you again."

"And you as well." Fudge smiled as he finally took notice of Harry. "And who just might this be I might wonder?" he asked.

"Harry Black" Harry said holding out his hand towards the minister "It is a pleasure to meet you minister."

Minister Fudge's eyes went wide at hearing Harry's name and he noticed he had also drawn the looks of a few others in the top box. Before Fudge could find he tongue, they were interrupted by a feminine voice behind them.

"Black?" he heard. "I was not aware there were any male Blacks left alive other than my cousin Sirius, and he never mentioned having a son."

Harry and Rose turned around to see the Malfoys making their way towards them and the minister. It had been Narcissa who had spoken.

"Yes I am not surprised." Harry told her. "Father had kept my existence quite due to the war. He had only told the Potter's, as they had been present for my birth. Naturally I grew up with my mother outside of the country upon his imprisonment."

Lucius and Draco seemed to not be happy about the news that Draco was no longer the heir to the Black fortune, and it was Lucius who spoke up next. "Have you had any contact with him then?"

"I have received a letter or two from him, but he has not stated where he is currently." Harry told him, knowing he and Fudge were both listening to his answer carefully. "I have only just moved back to England after the passing of my mother, and await my 17th to take up the mantel of Head of House Black."

"We shall have to meet up for dinner." Narcissa said, not looking at all pleased with the turn of events. Harry wouldn't have been surprised if it would be the last dinner she had in mind for him.

"Of course!" Harry smirked at her, not at all worried about her unimplied threat. "It was a pleasure meeting you, please enjoy your match."

With that Harry led Rose to their seats and settled in to enjoy the Quidditch match.


End file.
